Jealousy
by Joybug
Summary: When Yohji finds out Aya is seeing Knight he gets jealouse. Aya is struggling between his relationship with Knight and Yohji, only to find himself in a mess when he finds out Kritiker altered his DNA. Rated for swearing and yaoi. OOC MPREG
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes: don't own Weiss Kreuz, sure as hell wish we did, but nope.

And this isn't a shot at pregnant women, either, but its meant to be funny. So while pregnant women aren't like this, a pregnant Aya is.

Chapter 1

Aya's eyes widened as Knight walked into the flower shop.

"Work related, Yuushi?" Aya asked, walking over to him. He couldn't think of anything that the Crashers would need Weiss' help on. Lately the workload had been pretty scarce. It was leaving him stir crazy.

"Does it have to be?" Knight asked with a smile. Aya glared at him, pissed off as he watched Knight hold out a bushel of roses to him.

"Are you out of your fucking mind! I told you I would come to you, you asshole!" Aya all but screamed, shoving him toward the door.

"You don't have to be a prick about it, Ran," Knight straightened as Aya shoved him out the door.

"Apparently I do, because you sure as hell don't listen to me when I'm nice!"

"Don't be like that. Are we still going out tonight?" Aya raised an eyebrow at that. Did he want to go out now? Probably not. He didn't think he'd be cooled off by eight. It was already pushing six.

"Not tonight," he felt bad when Knight's face fell. It was just dinner, what was he so upset about?

"I'll call you then. Have a good night, Ran," Knight leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll try," and he would. As angry of a person as he was, he didn't actually like being angry.

"Read the book I got for you?" Aya nodded, he would. He'd been meaning to start it anyway.

"I'm sorry," Knight gave him a small smile before turning and leaving.

"Who was that?" Yohji asked, startling Aya. Aya turned and looked him in the eye to see if Yohji was teasing him.

"Yuushi Honjou. He's one of the Crashers."

"One of them? You should've at least introduced him to us. It'd be cool to meet another team!"

"You've met other teams before, so why does it matter?" Aya didn't get it. Why was Yohji so excited, it was just another team like theirs, nothing special about it.

"Because its always cool to meet other teams!" Omi joined in.

"He was just leaving anyway," Aya growled.

"Yeah, but only because you threw him out the door. What was all that about, anyway?" Ken asked, stretching. So they hadn't seen Knight try to give him flowers. That was good at least.

"He wasn't supposed to come here. We were supposed to meet at his team's safe house."

"You threw him out for that? That's pretty cold, man, even for you."

"Yeah, but then again we all know how anal Aya is about schedules and shit," Yohji chuckled.

"You three will meet him eventually, I'm sure, with him pulling stupid shit like that, now drop it!" Aya warned. Omi and Ken at least turned around and went about their business.

But why was Yohji staring at him like he'd grown another head.

"Is there a problem?" Aya snarled, ready to attack right in front of the fan girls. He didn't care right now. Knight had put him in a mood.

"I haven't decided yet," Yohji teased, but his eyes were serious. Aya didn't know what to make of that. What could Yohji possibly have to be pissed about?

"Hn," Aya turned his back on Yohji. He'd just dealt with one asshole, he didn't have time for another one.

Aya felt a wave of relief as Omi closed the doors and turned the closed sign around. Good, he was tired of people swarming around him. He quickly counted out the till and then made his way upstairs.

After two hours of training with his sword out on the balcony he went back inside and sat down on the bed, propped comfortably against the headboard with his newest book. It was a strange book to say the least, one about superstitions around the world. Knight had told him it was a good read, and, after he'd scoffed, had bought him a copy.

A loud knock startled him. How the hell hadn't he heard someone out in the hallway.

"Aya. There are two guys here to see you. Do the names Masato and Naru mean anything to you?" Yohji asked from the other side of the door.

"I'm coming," Aya knew what he was going to be greeted with when he came down the stairs. _Don't I get to at least sit down for a goddamn minute!_

"Ran! Its me! Hi!" Pawn charged at him, but stopped a few feet short.

"Please don't be mad at Yuushi!" Pawn looked so cute with big gleeful eyes, his hands clasped together like he was begging.

"Go back to the car and tell Knight that a real man apologises in person." Aya snorted.

"Knight was going to come in, but Naru insisted that he would be more convincing," Rook snorted.

"And you?" Aya asked Rook, finding it really hard to believe that he'd come to plead Knight's case.

"I'm just here for the show. Wanted to see Naru make an ass of himself again."

"That's not very nice!" Pawn cried. Aya rolled his eyes. There was no way in hell he could really stay mad right now, not with Pawn spazing out and Masato teasing him. Sometimes he wished he was still part of their team. Of course Masato hadn't been there when he had because Aya had been his temporary replacement, but he'd visited enough times to know he was in good company.

"Why don't we kidnap you for a few hours! Oh! Yuushi will be so happy that you're coming with us!" Pawn practically screamed. Aya saw Yohji wince at the kid's volume.

"Who said I was coming with you?" Aya just wanted to see the kid spaz out even worse.

"Wha…but my performance was great! Come on Ran!!!! If Yuushi knows I failed my mission he's going to tease me!" Pawn pouted.

"What's that?" Aya pointed to a small slip of paper in Pawn's hand.

"I've got Omi's email address!" _You would! _"We're going to be the bestest of friends, I can tell! And Ken can be my friend too! But I don't think he likes me," he pointed at Yohji.

"Be nice to Naru," Aya warned him. He didn't know why Yohji was so pissy. But taking it out on Pawn was like taking it out on Omi.

"So you're coming?!!" Pawn squeaked, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the door.

"Yes, I'm coming, Runt, now let go of my hand. Do I look like your boyfriend?" At that Pawn squawked and let go with a quiet 'Yuushi would kill me!'.

"Nice to meet all of you!" Pawn shouted as he closed the door.

"Is Omi single?" Pawn asked once they were outside.

"He's with Ken." Aya chuckled.

"No one wants to be with me!!!"

"No, go to any gay bar and you'll get someone for a couple hours. Your problem is that no one wants to wake up beside you because they know you'll yack their ear off all morning long," Masato teased. Aya snorted at that. He was surprised Masato hadn't gone for Pawn, the two were oddly compatible in his eyes. Besides, Pawn needed a fucking keeper.

Aya shoved past Masato and stole the passenger seat, making the big guy have to ride in the back with Pawn. As much as he liked the kid he sure as hell didn't want to sit next to him, it would lead to being talked to again.

"I'm surprised you came. I thought you were still mad at me," Knight chuckled.

"Naru wouldn't leave me the fuck alone until I agreed to come." Aya grinned.

"I won't be staying too long, though. I have some investigating to do tomorrow. Yohji is pissed off and I want to know why. Its not like him. I need to make sure its not going to affect the team if we get a mission." Aya would stay an hour or two, but after that he was going to follow Yohji around, watch him from the shadows.

He would get behind whatever the hell it was that was pissing off the blonde, and then he'd either deal with it or tell him to grow up.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Yohji was pissed, to say the least. He'd loved Aya for so long, watched him from afar for years. He'd never made a move because Aya didn't even look at him. _Well, Aya didn't look at anyone! _

He'd already settled himself to the rocky friendship that they had, which was chaotic at best.

When they'd first met he'd tried to get the redhead's attention, but it had only aggravated the man, who didn't understand why he was getting so much attention. Aya was perfect, and perfectly unattainable.

Aya cared about the team and its members, but didn't show it in the way that most people did. He showed it by how he tried to protect them on missions. He showed it when he cooked for everyone and made sure that when he got groceries that everyone's favourites had been picked up.

He didn't touch and he didn't like to be touched. Or at least that's what Yohji had thought. But now he wasn't so sure. To the casual eye it had looked like Aya and this Yuushi guy had been fighting, but to Yohji he could tell that there was something behind the fighting. The two of them actually liked arguing with each other, and no way in hell was the other guy innocent of having started the fight. Yohji could tell by his eyes that he'd done it on purpose. He'd deliberately pissed Aya off and then sicked his friends on him. Aya should've been even more pissed, he should've shown them the door like he would've to anyone else. He should've gotten his katana out and attacked them, then made his way to the guy's car and attack him next.

Instead Aya had gone with them with a touch of a smile on his face. Yohji had never seen Aya smile before. It pissed him off that it hadn't been a smile for him. That there'd been another man who had stepped in and stolen what he'd wanted for so long.

And then to find out that Aya had once been on the man's team, that was even worse. Yohji hadn't known he'd been on other teams. He'd just assumed that when Aya had taken over their team that he'd been new to Kritiker altogether. It hadn't made sense to him in the beginning why Aya had been so damned good at taking over. But after the first few missions he'd just accepted it.

Now he wondered if the two had been together while on the same team. And if so, is that why he'd been transferred out? Had Kritiker found out and been opposed to the relationship? If so then he'd better warn Omi and Ken to keep it even more low key. He didn't want those two to have to part ways, even if it was just for missions, and he sure as hell didn't want to lose either one of them, he enjoyed spending time with them.

He was about to head upstairs to bed when he heard the door open.

"Looks like this is the first time in a long time we spent time together where there wasn't a fight. We should celebrate." Knight's voice whispered. Yohji heard what he could swear was Aya chuckling.

"Well, why don't you come upstairs and we'll do some…celebrating." Yohji could've choked at that. Aya was bringing the man into his room? No one went into Aya's room! It was a rule!

Yohji never would've guessed that Aya had been with anyone before. The man was untouchable! But then again he'd been seeing someone on his own team for god knows how long, he'd probably slept in his arms every night! No wonder Aya was always pissy! He'd been pulled out of the arms of someone he loved. Yohji would've been pissed, too!

Of course there was only one person he loved. One person he'd kill for. And if they'd been together like that and Kritiker had tried to pull them apart he sure as hell wouldn't have gone. He would've stayed and even would've left Weiss behind if it meant he could still come home to Aya every night. But then again, he knew Aya was a lot more dutiful than he would ever be, so the man had probably just agreed to whatever they'd told him without question.

He wondered what Kritiker would do if they knew he was still seeing him, too. He wished he was a big enough asshole to call Kritiker and inform them. But he knew that he would never do something like that to a teammate. He wasn't a rat, and he didn't want to create any rifts between himself and Aya.

He would take anything he could get.

"Are you listening in on us?" Aya snarled, walking toward him.

"I was watching television." Yohji said in his best nonchalant voice.

"Then why isn't it on?" _Shit!_

"Because I just got down here and didn't want to disturb you. I was waiting until you got upstairs so that I could turn it on without embarrassing you. You saying that your romantic mood wouldn't have changed to pissed off if you'd come home to hearing me watch some gory movie? I'll bet you'd have been even more pissed because you would've known someone was awake that might hear you being 'improper,' Now go and fuck your boyfriend," he just barely managed to dodge a kick that had been aimed at his head. _What the hell!_

"Is this the blonde that Naru's afraid of?" Knight asked, wrapping his arms around Aya and pulling him back before the redhead could strike again.

"You mean the kid? I didn't do anything to him. I hardly even said anything to him!" Why would the kid be afraid of him?

"He probably read your mood. And even right now, when you were trying to act friendly to Ran, coming up with excuses that we all know aren't true, you are actually quite angry. Have I done something to offend you?" This guy was way too nice, and very dangerous. Yohji could see it easily in the way he carried himself, and managed to pull Aya away, and in the undertones in his voice. There was a threat buried somewhere in his voice.

"I think I might see the problem. It must be hard," Knight shook his head, placing himself between Aya and Yohji.

"Hard?" Yohji knew that somehow Knight didn't know what was going on even if he thought he did.

"Being a straight man living in a house full of men who are gay." Yohji burst out laughing. _This is too freaking hilarious!_

"Guess what, sweetheart, I probably have more men under my belt buckle than you'd ever see in your entire life."

"Disgusting!" Aya hissed.

"Ran, regardless of what you think of him, you still have to work with him, so play nice for a while!" Knight scolded. Aya smacked the man in the back of the head and walked away.

"I suppose this is where I should leave. I would like to say its been nice to meet you, Yohji, but it hasn't been. Perhaps under better circumstances we might talk again."

Yohji shook his head when the man left. The last thing he'd ever wanted to be called by Aya was 'disgusting!' He was going to have to salvage this! And damned if he wouldn't steal Aya right out from underneath that bastard!

But for right now, he was going to go and talk to the temperamental redhead. He walked up the stairs, wincing as Aya's bedroom door slammed.

He waited for a moment, taking a deep breath and prepared to greet the beast.

The second he knocked the door was flung open. Had Aya heard him?

"What do you want, Kudou?" Aya snarled.

"I'm sorry I ruined your date. I tried to keep out of your way and it all backfired." he watched Aya's carefully blank face for traces of…anything, but found nothing.

"That all?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"Hn," and the door was slammed in his face. _What did he mean 'is that all?' What else should there be?_

Of course in his head the best outcome would've been to shove his way into Aya's room and push him down on that bed and… He shook his head. _Bad thoughts!_

_Author's notes: Thanks, JollyBigSis for your review!!!  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Aya stepped inside his room, slamming the door furiously. He noticed movement outside his window and shook his head at Knight, who had climbed the fire escape and was waiting with a smirk on his face.

Aya nearly jumped out of his skin when there was a knock at the door. He swung it open, holding it closed just enough that Yohji couldn't see Knight waiting.

"What do you want, Kudou?" Aya snapped. He didn't have time for this. He needed to open the window to let Knight in!

"I'm sorry I ruined your date. I tried to keep out of your way and it all backfired," Yohji looked sad, and Aya didn't give a damn right now. Yohji had no right to act the way he had. He had no right to sneak around and spy on him! Well, Yohji would get a taste of what that felt like sooner than he realized.

"That all?" Aya demanded impatiently.

"Yeah, sorry." Aya slammed the door shut and locked it, grinning as he walked to the window and opened it.

"Let's put all that anger to better use, Ran," Knight chuckled, pulling him close.

Aya grinned and nodded, kissing him hard. It had been two weeks since they'd last slept together, Aya hadn't realized just how needy he was until Knight's kisses moved down to his neck.

"The challenge this time, is going to be keeping you quiet," Knight chuckled in his ear. _Which is exactly why we usually do this at your place!_

"Shut up," Aya shoved the long coat off Knight's shoulders and dropped it on the ground.

"I don't keep you around for the conversation," Aya teased, knowing it would piss Knight off.

Knight shoved him up against the wall and kissed the hell out of him.

"Heaven's forbid you actually learn some morals," Knight growled, yanking the shirt up over his head. Aya grinned and let him, loving the feel of Knight's hands on him. The man knew what he was doing.

Knight was the only one Aya had ever slept with. When Knight had professed his feelings 'I love you, and you frustrate the hell out of me!' it seemed like the thing to do. Aya had always wanted to be with someone that he loved for his first time, but someone that loved him was good enough, and he did care about Knight, he just didn't love him. Of course all of their fights had led back to the bedroom after that first time.

"Morals are just bullshit that our parents feed us when we're little. And look, we turned out to be murderers anyway," Aya taunted, tearing Knight's shirt apart instead of bothering with the buttons. Knight hated it when he did that.

Aya grinned as he shoved Knight toward the bed. He climbed on top of the man, grinning as he worked his fly open.

"not like that, I want you on your knees," Knight lightly pushed Aya off.

"I don't take requests, Yuushi!" Aya hissed.

"You do if you want to keep quiet!" Yuushi growled back. Aya stood up, grumbling under his breath, and stripped off his pants, then got on his knees.

Yuushi was fast at work preparing him, then shoved into him in one deep thrust, reaching around and clamping a hand over his mouth to muffle his shout. Now he understood, it would be too hard to reach up and cover his mouth.

Neither one of them lasted long, not with how long it had been since they'd last been together. Just because Weiss' missions had been scarce didn't mean the Crashers hadn't been doing them every damned night!

Aya got up from the bed and started removing the sheets.

"Really, Ran, do you have to do that right now? We should lay here and enjoy each other's company for a minute." Knight was frowning at him.

"On a dirty bed? I don't think so."

"Why do you have such a problem with spending time in my arms when we aren't having sex? Is something wrong?" Aya glared at him.

"I just gave you what you came here for! And you have the nerve to judge me?" Aya pulled on a pair of pants and then grabbed his sword, pulling it from its sheath. He'd given himself to Knight time and time again and the man dared to judge him, accuse him of holding back?

"Get out!" He pointed the sword at Knight in warning. Knight dressed quickly and walked toward the window.

"Your actions are hollow, Ran, if you don't feel them in your heart," Knight shook his head sadly.

"Get out!" Aya roared, storming toward him. He would kill Knight if the man didn't get out of his room right now! That was one thing that he couldn't deal with, he couldn't deal with people telling him what he did and didn't feel, it cut far too deep. Knight had accused him of many things in the past, but the man knew better than to say something like that.

The first time he'd heard Yohji joke about him being cold Aya had disappeared for a couple days, unable to look him in the eye without breaking down. His teammates joked about him being cold every day, and it hurt to know that there was a bit of honesty in those jokes. They didn't see him. It was fine. He'd been standoffish when he'd first joined because he didn't know what to expect, what moral high ground they would judge him from. Truth be told, he'd liked the flirting Yohji had given him, had even been warming up to the man and had considered taking him up on his offer. Once they'd started saying he was cold he decided that he would be just that. They didn't see him and that was their mistake. Now he was determined that they never would.

Aya's eyes were wide as his door was kicked open.

"Are you okay?" Yohji demanded, racing in.

Aya nodded, feeling worn down.

"Did he hurt you?" That made Aya pause, had Yohji known Knight was the one in the room?

Aya looked down and noticed Knight's torn up shirt on the ground still. So that's how Yohji had known it was him.

Aya was shocked out of his mind when Yohji wrapped his arms tightly around him and just held him. He barely felt the sword fall from his hand. For a second he clung tight to Yohji, his fingers tangled up in the back of Yohji's shirt.

"I'll kill him!" Yohji hissed.

"What for?" Aya drew away reluctantly. What he wanted more than anything else was to stay there, to hide against him, but he couldn't afford to, not and keep his dignity. Yohji would never take him seriously even if he did give in. He would be left behind like so many men and women before him.

"He forced you…"

"He did NOT force me to do anything! He just…" Aya shook his head. No, he couldn't afford to show Yohji just how badly Knight had hurt him.

"Please leave, Yohji. I need to do my laundry," Aya started picking up the sheets and shoved them into the laundry hamper before grabbing it to take it downstairs.

"I'll do it, you put some sheets on your bed and go to sleep," Aya just stared as Yohji took it out of his arms. _Since when does Yohji do laundry?_

"Don't look at me like that. I know how to do laundry!"

"No, you know how to leave your laundry for Omi or myself. Dropping it off downstairs once a week doesn't count as doing laundry! A magic laundry fairy doesn't put it back in your drawers clean!" Aya ripped it out of Yohji's hands and walked out through his broken door.

"You're replacing the door," Aya said.

"I figured as much. I'll hang a blanket in there for now so that you can get some sleep."

"Do it now!" Aya stormed down the stairs and into the laundry room. He paused when he caught his reflection in the full length mirror, that Omi had bought (so that they could get the most of the blood cleaned off their skin), and were tears on his cheeks. _Shit!_

Aya hung his head for a second, blowing out a breath. He felt like an idiot. He'd cried in front of Yohji.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis for your review!

And to Blackorcid, we are taking you up on that challenge!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Yohji didn't quite know what to make of last night. He'd spent half the night fixing Aya's door. It would've been a lot quicker had he known what he was doing. Instead Aya had to stand behind him and instruct him on how to put a new door on, as Aya's had been unsalvageable.

He didn't understand what had happened. It was still unbelievable to him. He had never ever in his entire time knowing the man to ever see so much hurt written on his face. He'd never thought Aya capable of feeling hurt like that. It made him seem human, and somehow even more perfect. Yohji hated that it had taken the man's tears to make him see the real man.

Now it was like he could see Aya's emotions clear as day even when the others didn't.

He watched Aya race back and forth through the shop, cleaning and making the arrangements look perfect. Normally something like that would make him think that Aya was angry at him for falling behind, but now he understood that the redhead was keeping himself busy to try to stop from thinking about whatever it was that had hurt him so badly.

Yohji wanted to tell Aya to rest, to go and eat, but he knew better. It would be like a slap to the face for Aya.

Yohji couldn't believe that he had held Aya in his arms last night, even for a brief moment. When Aya had clung to him Yohji had felt his own tears filling his eyes. For those few seconds Aya had been his! And when Aya had pulled away he'd taken Yohji's heart with him.

Now Yohji was determined. That bastard had hurt Aya and he'd be damned if he let the man reclaim what he'd wanted so badly for so long!

"Aya, can we talk?" Yohji asked, coming up behind him. Immediately the redhead's entire body went rigid.

"No," Aya answered, his voice tight.

"Okay, I'll leave you alone for now," Yohji took his chances and kissed Aya on the cheek before hurrying about counting up the till.

Aya just stood there staring at him like he'd grown another head.

"We're back!" Omi announced cheerfully, carrying an armful of groceries. He set them on the table. It was the way it was done. They put it on the table and let Aya deal with it.

He wondered how much work they all pawned off on Aya as a whole. Part of it was their knowledge of his being a neat freak. If they put the groceries away Aya would put them all back on the counter and rearrange them anyway. But the other part was that they were taking advantage of him.

He had never realized it before. Just when had this started? When had they all started leaving all the work for Aya while they went off and did whatever they felt like.

Aya did all of the cleaning, most of the cooking, the laundry. He stitched up almost everyone's wounds. He cleaned the blood out of their clothes and helped Omi fill out all of the reports to Kritiker. He went and picked up whatever they needed for work. He repaired every broken thing in the house and made sure that all the bills were paid.

Ever since Aya had moved in they'd all been living the easy life. Well, that was about to change!

Yohji locked the doors and flipped the sign before he followed Aya into the kitchen. Aya was fast at work like it was a mission, putting everything away.

"Aya, can I help?"

"Why do you want to help? I'm not a pity case, Yohji," Aya snapped.

"Sit down and let me do it. You've been racing around all day long. You need a break," it was true, Aya hadn't stopped for lunch or fifteen minute breaks all day, he'd just kept going.

"You can't let him get to you like this, Aya," the second it had left his mouth he'd known it was a mistake. Aya glared at him, the warning glare that meant he was ready to fight to save his dignity.

Yohji held up his hands to let Aya know he'd meant no harm.

"This isn't pity, Aya. I care about you and I don't want to see some prick hurt you. You're family! He isn't worth it! No one is!" Yohji pleaded, trying to get Aya to understand.

"Yuushi is the only one who sees me," Aya said very quietly. Yohji had almost missed his words they were so quiet.

"I see you, Aya," Yohji walked up to him and lay his hand against Aya's cheek. The man just stood there with wide eyes.

"I see when you're hurt you rush around to keep busy. I see when you're worried you keep an eye on us. I see when you get angry that you're hurt or feeling guilty. I see how sad you look when…"

"Shut up!" Aya snapped, backhanding him.

"You hate yourself so much, don't you?" Yohji pulled Aya up against him and kissed him, slow and gentle, trying to offer him some comfort. He nudged Aya's mouth open and delved inside, keeping it soft, trying not to overwhelm him. He didn't want Aya to think he was taking advantage.

"Why are you trying to ruin what's left of me?" Aya whispered against his lips. Yohji pulled back with surprise. _What's left of you? What does that mean, Aya?_

"I wasn't trying to hurt you, Aya," Yohji said, his heart aching as he watched Aya hang his head. The redhead went back to packing away the groceries, trying to stay away from him, refusing to look at him.

Yohji didn't know what to do. So he left the room.

"He could've at least thanked us for picking everything up for him again! He's such a fucking cold bastard!" Ken griped in the next room.

"If I ever hear you say that shit again I'll kill you myself!" Yohji snapped, storming toward Ken, he punched him in the face.

"Yohji! What do you think you're doing!" Omi shouted furiously.

"He does everything for us, and you have the nerve…you know what, never mind, you go about being self-centered little bastards!" Yohji wanted to hit Omi, too, for not noticing how much Aya did for them. But most of all, he wanted to hit himself for being so blind.

How could he claim to love Aya if he had never seen the real Aya, the man had been right. Yohji had never seen him even though he thought he did. Aya was alone and had been for as long as they'd known him.

Yohji would change that! Aya shouldn't have to run back to that bastard just to have someone hold him. Just to have someone understand that he was a living person, not some dead cold monster.

Author's notes: thanks JollyBigSis for your review! ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Aya hated it that Yohji was doting on him. He wasn't that pathetic that he should need Yohji behind him every time he looked.

Yohji just wanted to sleep with him. He knew that. Yohji wasn't the commitment type. The only way to get the blonde to leave him alone was to give in to him. Once Yohji had what he wanted he would back off and go back to treating him like he was invisible.

He didn't want Yohji's pity.

So he had stretched and prepared himself in his room before knocking on Yohji's door. When the blonde opened the door Aya pushed his way inside, closing the door behind him.

"Aya, did you want something?" Yohji asked, looking confused.

"No, but you obviously do." Aya watched Yohji's face as he started stripping down.

"Aya, what are you doing?" Yohji's eyes were wide and disbelieving as Aya reached over and started pulling his clothes off as well.

"I'll give you two guesses, but if you get it wrong the first time I'm going to hit you," Aya tugged Yohji's pants down, moving back as Yohji stepped out of them.

"This is hardly the way I'd expected this to go. Are you sure you want to do this?" Aya shut him up with a kiss, shoving him against the door.

"Are you saying you don't want this?" Aya wasn't really asking as he left teeth marks on Yohji's neck. He shoved Yohji's hands away when the blonde reached down to try to stretch him.

"I already did that," Aya liked the deer in lights look on Yohji's face. He walked over to the bed and crawled onto it, laying on his back.

"Are you coming over here or not?" Aya was getting nervous as Yohji just stood there and stared at him. He wasn't used to that. Knight always pounced on him when given the chance.

"I suppose I must be mistaken. I'd thought that you…" now he was embarrassed. He'd read him wrong and had just made a fool of himself.

Relief washed over him as Yohji climbed onto the bed with him, covering him with that lithe body.

Aya opened when Yohji kissed him. It was like second nature, it felt so right, and yet the circumstances felt so wrong.

For once he felt truly alive.

"Are you sure about this, Aya?" Yohji asked, drawing back enough to look him in the eye. Why did Aya feel like he was lying when he nodded?

The second he nodded Yohji was pushing into him. It hurt more than it did with Knight. Yohji was larger than he was used to. Aya gasped, eyes shutting tightly as he tried to relax.

"Cover my mouth," Aya whispered, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

"And why would I do something like that? If I cover your mouth I won't be able to hear you if you tell me to stop," Yohji kissed him again, this time more passionately, consuming him. Aya whimpered into his mouth, shifting his hips upward to push Yohji further into his body.

"Because I'm loud," Aya gasped as Yohji started to move, drawing out slowly before slamming back inside.

"You don't need to be gentle, I can handle whatever you give me," Aya added his own strength to the thrusts, gasping and groaning as Yohji sped up, slamming into him so hard that he could barely breathe. It felt so good. When he was with Knight the feeling didn't bother him, didn't put him on edge like this. What made him come was the knowledge that he was loved. But with Yohji it was that consuming feeling that pushed at him hitting that spot inside of him that made him cry out.

"I love the sounds you make. I would never try to silence them," Yohji bit lightly at the side of his neck as he came. Aya was right behind him, all but shouting as he came.

When Yohji slid from his body he felt empty. Like he'd been used when really he'd been the one doing the using.

"Did I hurt you too much?" Yohji asked, and only then did Aya feel the dampness on his cheeks. He'd cried in front of Yohji again.

"No." Aya kissed Yohji lightly before climbing out of the bed.

"Aya, why don't you lie here with me for a while, let me hold you," Yohji reached up and grasped his hand, trying to tug him back down.

"Now that you have that out of your system you can forget about treating me like a pity case," or at least he hoped so. He wanted Yohji to hold him, but it would hurt too much when the blonde shoved him away.

"Is that what this was about? Didn't you feel anything? How could you let me do that and not feel a thing.

"I felt something, but it isn't something that I deserve." Aya smiled sadly at Yohji as he went to the door. He felt horrible as he saw the broken look on Yohji's face.

"Was I wrong to think that this was what you wanted?" Aya asked, walking back to the bed. He lay his hand against Yohji's cheek, looking into those deep green eyes.

"You were wrong. I wanted more than a one night stand," Yohji kissed his palm, still keeping the eye contact.

"Then I can't give you what you wanted. Because when you walk away it will hurt too much," Aya admitted. He kissed Yohji's forehead before turning to leave.

"I want to keep you, Aya." That made his heart ache. He wanted someone to belong to, someone who would love him despite the horrible things that he had done. Despite how he felt dead inside.

"I'm sorry," Aya had to leave. If he stayed a second longer he would break down again. And his heart couldn't take being broken again.

Aya went back to his room, feeling cold and alone. Maybe Knight and the others were right about him. Maybe his emotions had fled him long ago, leaving behind an empty shell that could only hurt those around him.

Aya nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Knight standing at his window looking pissed off.

He walked over to it and let the man in.

"So we have one argument and you cheat on me? That's low even for you, Ran."

"I thought that maybe if I slept with him he would leave me alone. He's been following me treating me like a pity case after what you said to me." Aya shook his head as Knight took him in his arms and kissed the top of his head.

"What am I going to do with you, Ran?" Knight sighed, just holding him like he was the most precious thing in the world.

"You should've come to me if he was following you. I would've set him straight." Aya tipped his head back and let Knight kiss him.

"Why is everything always wrong?" Aya asked. He didn't know why he thought Knight had the answers that he needed, but Knight was the only one he could trust right now.

"He wanted me to stay with him. He said he wanted to keep me. I don't know what he meant, but I knew that I couldn't be what he needed anymore than I can be what you need," He'd never lain his heart so bare to Knight before, but who else could he go to?

"Have you been following him to find out what's wrong?" Knight ran a hand through his hair, comforting him.

"I haven't had a chance with him stalking me." He didn't understand what the hell was going on. Knight seemed to know, but he knew the man well enough that he would never give him the answers that he sought.

"You know that I love you, right? More than anything? I need you by my side, Ran, and that can only happen if you try to love me back. It will take some time and it will be a difficult road to travel, but I need your heart to belong to me."

"I'll try." Aya had been trying for a while, and while he enjoyed the time they spent together, Knight still felt like a close friend, not a lover.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis for your review!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Yohji stretched his arms up over his head, yawning as he headed for the bathroom.

"You won't be getting in there any time soon," Ken said very quietly from down the hall.

"Why's that?" And then he heard it. Aya was throwing up in the bathroom.

"He's been doing that for a while now. Might as well go down into the laundry room and clean up down there." If Aya was taking up the bathroom then Yohji knew he was going to have to go there. There was proper soap and things down there so that they could clean up after missions.

"How long has he been in there?" Yohji had never ever seen Aya sick before, this was definitely a first.

"Um, about twenty minutes now. He settles down for a few minutes and then starts up again. I'm surprised he's got anything left," Omi said with a frown, obviously thinking the same thing.

"I'm going to make sure he's alright," Yohji picked the lock and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind him so that the other two wouldn't witness Aya in such a state.

"You going to be okay?" Yohji asked, kneeling down beside him, avoiding looking into the toilet.

"Hn," Aya looked sickly pale, his eyes dull. Yohji put a hand to Aya's forehead.

"You've got a fever. We should get you to a doctor," Yohji moved to help Aya up, but the man stubbornly refused to leave.

"If I stand up I'm going to be sick again." Yohji drew Aya up into his arms, just holding him, but letting Aya still face the toilet incase he was going to throw up again.

"When did this start?"

"I felt sick last night. Yuushi visited me, and about half an hour after he left I started feeling nauseous. That bastard had better have not given me the damned flu. I'll kill him!" Aya hissed. He paused, tilting his head back to look at Yohji.

"I think….I think I can get up now. I feel gross, but…not like a second ago."

"Okay, let me help you. I can get you up slowly so you don't get vertigo." Yohji carefully stood up with Aya still in his arms. He gently set Aya to stand against the sink while he flushed the toilet.

He gently helped Aya wash his face with a warm cloth. He knew personally that when he was sick he wanted nothing more than to get clean. And knowing how anal Aya was about cleanliness he knew the redhead must be going out of his mind.

Aya said nothing as he watched Yohji put a glob of toothpaste on his toothbrush before handing it to him.

"Once you're done brushing your teeth I'll get you to the doctor. I'll drive slow so that I don't make you worse, and we'll keep a large bowl in your lap just in case." Aya nodded in agreement. Which meant Aya was feeling way worse than Yohji had thought. Aya didn't agree to things like that without a fight. Hell, Aya would start a fist fight if Yohji mentioned him looking overtired most of the time.

Yohji felt like things were moving in slow motion as he practically carried Aya out to the car. The redhead was slumped in his seatbelt as Yohji drove him to the Magicbus hospital so that he could see a Kritiker doctor.

Almost as soon as he walked in the door the doctors demanded that he wait in the waiting room while they 'talked to Mr. Fujimiya in private'. It pissed Yohji off. He wanted to be there to hold Aya's hand while the doctors checked him over.

After about five minutes he could hear Aya screaming profanities and 'how dare you's' and 'I'm going to kill you'. He could hear the doctors shouting for help and to put him in restraints.

That was it. Yohji was not going to sit there while Aya sounded like he was being murdered.

He ran as fast as he could into the room, shoving the doctors out of the way. Aya lay there listlessly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Aya!" Yohji ran to his side, wiping the hair out of Aya's eyes.

"What did you do to him!" Yohji screamed, he had never seen Aya look so dead before.

"How could they do this to us?" Aya whispered, looking up at him.

"What did they do, Aya? Talk to me," he pressed a kiss to Aya's forehead.

"They used us like guinea pigs. They ...," Aya's eyes were pleading with him to stay, to help him.

"I'm not going anywhere, don't worry." He was surprised that the doctors had restrained him instead of dosing him full of tranquilizers.

"What did they do, Aya. You have to talk to me."

"Mr. Fujimiya, you're going to be fine as long as you follow our guidelines and stay away from missions until this is finished. You need to think of the child."

Yohji choked. "Child? What the hell is going on here!" Yohji demanded, unbuckling Aya's restraints.

"The last time you came in for your physical we did some tests on you, on the both of you. Ran was a good candidate for the test, he is in perfect health, rarely sick, and physically in shape. We knew he was in a relationship and that it could only be one of two people. So we ran some tests on both yourself and Yuushi Honjou, making perfect DNA matches to be able to get the results out of that we needed. We did this twice before and the only one that survived was the one in top shape. You, Yohji Kudou, may very well be a father."

Yohji was feeling sick to his stomach. He felt dizzy and weak. This couldn't be happening. Not with him, and sure as hell not with Aya!

"How dare you do this! We have worked like dogs for Kritiker and this is what we get in return! Fuck you and your missions!"

"Yohji, the missions come first, even before our own feelings," Aya said very quietly. Yohji couldn't believe that Aya would still say that after this!

"We can't tell the others," Aya walked shakily toward the doctor and punched him as hard as he could. Yohji could hear the snap as the man's jaw broke.

"If that's how you want it then its fine. But we do have to warn them. We'll say that Naru kid told you that someone on another team had this happen to them. But we'll wait a few weeks so that they don't put two and two together."

"You can always go to one of those abortion clinics if you wanted to, Aya," Yohji put an arm around Aya's waist and helped support him to walk back to the car.

"That desperate to not be a father?" Aya snorted, scrubbing the tears off his cheeks with the heels of his hands. He really looked like shit.

"I never wanted to be a father, but that's not what this is about. This is about Kritiker thinking they'll get their way after doing something like this!" Yohji reached over and buckled Aya's seatbelt, as the redhead seemed too lost in his own thoughts to do it himself.

"I think I might want to see this through."

"Okay. I'll help you get through this, I promise. When you get all big and fat I'll still think you're beautiful," Yohji teased, smiling when he saw the twitch in Aya's lips that was very close to a smile.

"By the way, they said that it could be mine, but don't babies take at least a month before it starts fucking with your system? You and I were together last night, there's no way…"

"They said that because its from their tests that the child will only take about four months before its full sized. They said it makes sense that it would show immediately."

"Well that just fucking sucks," Yohji grumbled.

"I'm not expecting you to be a father, Yohji. But I'm glad that you came with me. Even if it is yours I won't make you be a father. Its your decision as much as it was my decision to keep the child. Don't worry," Aya reached over and touched one of his hands over the steering wheel.

"We'll figure this out when you pop the kid out, kay? And by the way, how the hell are you going to get the kid out? I mean I saw you naked and I didn't see any girly parts down below, or above. You were definitely all male."

"I freaked out before they could get to that part." Aya admitted.

Author's notes: Betcha didn't see that coming. ;P

thanks JollyBigSis for your review :)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Aya sat down and looked out the window for a moment before looking down at his stomach. He pulled his shirt off to look. He wanted to see if there were any traces of a child on the outside. Things were just wrong. Why would Kritiker do something like this? He'd always been loyal to the mission even when he hated Kritiker for putting him in ridiculous situations. His stomach was still completely flat.

He'd known something was up when the doctor had started moving all sharp objects out of his reach. But when the doctors dropped that bomb on him he`d wigged out completely.

The tests explained a lot. Like how, even though it had always hurt him to know what the team thought of him, how it seemed to make him feel like he was breaking. It made sense on how much he`d cried lately over situations that he`d been able to hide over the years.

He and Yohji had come up with a lie to tell Omi and Ken. They'd said that Kritiker had experimented on him to see how his body dealt with sickness, to see how long his immune system would take to get rid of it. That way it was still close to home without giving them the real situation.

Aya's breath caught in his throat when he noticed Knight standing outside his window, watching him with worried eyes. Aya let him in. the second Knight was inside Aya wrapped his arms around him.

"Ran, what's wrong?" Knight asked, kissing the top of his head.

"Did you ever want children, Yuushi?" He tilted his head up to look Knight in the eye.

"When I was younger, before I joined the Crashers I would've given anything to have a child. But not now. I couldn't taint a child's life with our work. Why are you asking?" He felt so alone right now. Yohji didn't want kids, and neither did Knight.

"Kritiker wants me to have a child," Aya lay his hand against Yuushi's cheek, seeing the man's confusion.

"So they what, set you up with a woman like breeding stock? Who was she?"

"I don't know how to explain this." And he really didn't. Yohji was already running for the hills, he didn't know if he could handle Knight doing the same. He couldn't tell anyone else. No one else would understand. No one else would hold his hand through this. _Since when do you need anyone's comfort!! You've become weak!_

"During my last physical they did something to me. I still don't understand it, but…they also experimented on you and Yohji." he shook his head. This was painful.

"What did they do to us?" Knight looked as worried as he felt.

"They picked you and Yohji because they didn't know who I was sleeping with. They…they made one of you the father!" Aya's eyes widened as Knight gently pushed him away.

"I didn't choose this, Yuushi." Aya sat back down on the bed.

"Are you going to keep it?" Knight sat down next to him, tugging him into his arms.

"I think so. Are you as eager as Yohji was to get me to have an abortion?" Aya let Knight gently lay him down on the bed.

"No. This is our baby. Its something that we can't get rid of. I never imagined I would ever have this connection with you. I love you, Ran." Knight lay half on top of him, kissing him soundly.

"You need to stay away from missions until the child is born. You do understand that, right? You can't put our child in danger," Knight's lips grazed his ear, making him shudder.

"You know me better than that," there was no way in hell that he was going to lay around lazily, playing the good mommy while the rest of the team risked their lives. They couldn't do the missions effectively without him. They would end up dead.

"Ran, please. You have to…"

"I don't have to do anything. And it might not be your child. It might be Yohji's. In fact, the chances of it being yours is about one fourth. I wasn't sick until I slept with Yohji. You and I have slept together hundreds of times since our last physical." Aya hated the torn look on Knight's face. It wasn't his fault though.

"I never would've thought you would want to keep it. I'm surprised you haven't gone to the clinic right away. I'm glad you haven't though. Even if it isn't mine I'll stand by your side."

"Thank you," he felt a bit better. He needed someone. He couldn't do this on his own.

"Just wait until I tell Naru. He'll be right in there to be your midwife," Knight snickered. Aya had to laugh at that! Pawn had always hero worshipped him. The kid would definitely want to be a part of it.

"Is it alright if I tell my team? They will want to congratulate you," Knight kissed him again, slow and gentle. It was so easy to give in to those kisses. Yohji wasn't going to touch him again. He'd seen the disgust and fear in the man's eyes. Yohji had barely looked at him at all once he found out.

"Just don't let Weiss find out, I don't need their pity," Aya groaned as Knight's kisses trailed down his chest.

"Tell me how bad you want it, Ran," Knight grinned at him.

"No," Aya wasn't about to beg for it. If Knight wouldn't give it to him then he'd leave the room and do it himself.

"Stubborn ass," Knight chuckled, slowly drawing his zipper down.

Aya went still when he heard Yohji's knock on the door. "Aya, can we talk?" Yohji asked from the other side.

Knight stormed toward the door, swinging it open.

"He is occupied. Come back later," he slammed the door in Yohji's face. Aya just stared. That wasn't like Knight!

"Why would you do something like that?" Aya demanded, shoving him toward the window.

"You're mine, Ran, not his! He has no right to try to be daddy now that he knows I'm willing to take that position!"

"He didn't know, Yuushi. Hell, I didn't even know until a few minutes ago!" Aya shoved the window open.

"Well now he does know. Get some rest, Ran." Knight left through the window, looking like it was his own idea.

Aya nodded, really having no intention of sleeping. But it was the only way to get Knight to leave.

"I won't have you two fucking posturing like a couple of animals. If you're here because you want to be then so be it. But don't fuck with me!" Aya wanted to punch him in the face for what he had done.

He wasn't some prize to be won, and he sure as hell wasn't going to put up with them acting like primates! It surprised him more than anything that it was Knight who had reacted that way.

Just how much did Knight think he had claimed him? Aya wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that.

He wondered if that was what had Yohji so upset lately. He was going to have to watch the both of them to figure this out.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and Ranma for your reviews. ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Yohji picked up the phone. He'd been hiding out in his room, avoiding Aya at all costs. He didn't think he could handle this right now.

"Can I speak to Mr. Kudou," a deep voice grumbled.

"This is. What do you want?" He knew it sounded pissed off, but he was frustrated to hell.

"This is Dr. Yuri. I wanted to go over the details of Abyssinian's treatment with you. You two left before I could warn you of some of the side effects." Yohji didn't like the sound of that one bit!

"So you fucked with him and now there's side effects, too?" He could hear the plastic phone creak in his hand.

"Well, his body is male, so some of the hormones are going to be out of whack. Things like hunger. He's going to be eating like he's feeding an army, and his anger levels are going to be through the roof."

"Hold on a sec. So you took a pissed off sociopath and made him even more angry and hungry to boot? Thanks for that, doc. Now what the hell do you expect me to do about it?"

"That isn't all, Mr. Kudou. The other subjects also exhibited symptoms of seizures and severely high sexual interest."

"So you're saying that Aya is going to be a pissed off horny beast having seizures while raiding the fridge? Why in the hell would you do something like that to him?" Yohji closed his eyes for a second, his head was pounding.

"And he's refused to stop taking missions. This could all go to hell real fast! Is there anything else you've forgotten to tell me?"

"Not at the moment. I will keep both you and Mr. Honjou informed of any changes. However, as a word of advice: It is best if you try to keep his stress levels to a minimum." Yohji laughed at that statement. Telling Aya not to stress out was like telling him not to breathe.

He hung up without another word. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Aya called his name from behind.

He spun to face the redhead, who was looking at him nervously.

"What's up, Aya?" the redhead just stared at him, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't make the words come out.

Yohji didn't know what to do, so he wrapped his arms around Aya, just holding him close. Aya was everything he'd always wanted. But he wasn't sure if this was something he could handle, even for Aya's love.

"Not much of a man, am I?" Yohji said into Aya's ear.

"I don't think I follow," Aya stayed in his arms, not breaking the hold to look him in the eye. It was like he was afraid that if he let go that Yohji would disappear.

"I love you more than anything, and yet here I am running from you because of this. In my opinion that doesn't make me much of a man."

"That's your own hangup, Kudou. It really has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with your own fears. I don't control the way your mind works." And just like that Aya was out of his arms and fishing through the lower cupboards.

"Where did Omi move his candy stash? It used to be right here," Aya grumbled. Yohji chuckled at that, picturing Aya crawling into the cupboard and staying in there until all the candy was gone.

"So you're the one he's been bitching about eating his candy," Yoji couldn't help himself. He reached down and pet a hand through Aya's hair.

"Stop it, you're messing it up. And I don't eat that much of his candy, that's Ken. I only take a couple pieces every now and then. Oh, here it is!" Aya pulled out a huge bag filled with saltwater taffies. He reached in and took out two.

"Want any?" Aya asked, looking up at him. Yohji shook his head. No, he was good. Aya shrugged and tied the bag closed, shoving it back into its place.

"Anything else you want to eat, Aya?" Yohji wanted to know how much Aya was already craving.

"Should there be?" Aya opened up the wrappers and shoved the candies into his mouth.

"You're not craving anything?"

"I'm 'craving' to know why you're asking me stupid questions," Aya tossed the wrappers in the garbage and started up the kettle to make some tea.

"The doctors just called and said you'd be eating like a horse. Was just wondering if that had started yet," he wasn't going to lie about it. Of course he was going to omit the other parts for right now. No sense in getting Aya worked up about the other details.

"No, I don't seem to be craving anything, just the usual 'what's going to be for supper'. But that's all. And only because I know you guys like variety when I cook." Aya was already pulling out the pan and turning on the burner.

"You know you don't always have to cook for us. We know how to cook."

"Sounds like pity to me. I don't like it. Besides, whenever you three cook its too bland for my tastes. So if I want to enjoy the food then I have to cook it. Now get away from me. I'm trying to concentrate." Aya levelled him with a glare that made Yohji back off. He knew that look well enough.

"Well, if you change your mind let me know. I mean its not like you're going to want to cook every day when you're…"

"Don't say it!" Aya warned.

The doorbell saved the mood. Yohji practically ran for it. He opened the door to find Pawn there with large doe eyes and an armful of flowers. He had a balloon that said 'congratulations, it's a brat'. Yohji had to chuckle at the boy's sense of humour.

"Where's Ran?" Pawn giggled.

"In the kitchen, but be careful, he's kind of testy right now…" not caring, the boy ran right past him and started gushing at Aya, giggling and hugging even though he must know that hugging Aya was always a dangerous move.

"Get off me," Aya hissed, shoving him back. Pawn just giggled and handed him the flowers.

"Knight told me it might be his, or it might be Yohji's! Your kid has a fifty fifty chance of being blonde regardless of who the dad is!"

"Shut up, Naru! The others don't know!" Aya growled.

"Oh, you mean it's a secret? I know a secret!" Pawn was practically jumping up and down. _Better you than me! _Yohji thought with a snort.

"Naru, take those things up to my room and place them on the stand next to my bed."

"And your room is…?"

"Upstairs, third door on the left. And treat it like a mission. No one must see or hear you!" Aya warned. Naru giggled and made for the stairs.

"Like talking to a wall, isn't it? How the hell did you survive being on the same team with him? Or better yet, how the hell did he survive being on the team with you?"

"Sometimes I wonder that myself," Aya started cutting up some vegetables, giving Yohji a warning glare when he moved to help.

"Okay, I'll just go sit down and watch from over there."

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis for your review. :)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Aya didn't like how closely Yohji was monitoring him. It made him feel like an invalid. First it had been while he was cooking, then while he was cleaning. The man just wouldn't get the hell out of his way!

And now they were on a mission and Yohji was watching him even closer, like he was going to nuke the place or something.

What was even worse was that Pawn and Knight had insisted on joining them for a few missions to make sure he was okay. He would've loved to cut them down one by one just to see the looks on their faces!

Aya watched the security guard. The plan was to wait until it was close to the change over period, where he would walk away and wait for the next guard.

Aya was already losing his patience_. To hell with the plan! _Aya lunged out of the shadows, drawing his sword. He drove it right through the man's throat.

"The guard is down, move in!" Aya snapped into his comm.

"Are you insane!" Yohji hissed, shoving him as he ran by.

"sometimes," Aya wondered why Yohji would ask him something like that. They were all crazy sometimes, it was why they were good at the job!

"Rook…Abyssinian, are you alright?" Knight asked, stopping to look him in the eye. It touched him that Knight sometimes thought of him as Rook even though he'd only temporarily replaced the old Rook, who was Knight's best friend.

"I'm fine," why was everyone acting weird around him? Even Ken and Omi were avoiding him. He supposed it might've been because of Aya threatening Omi with a knife when the boy said he would help with the dishes. He'd just been so tired of Yohji doting on him. And then Yohji had gotten the boys to try to help him out, too, telling them that they were taking advantage of him.

Aya had never minded doing all the work. In fact, he'd always felt like he was showing them in his own way that he cared. Now they wanted to take that away from him and make him useless. When he was useless would they try to get rid of him?

Aya shook his head, feeling like he was going to break into tears again. Knight wrapped his arms tightly around him.

"Come on, let's get you back into the car, Ran." Knight kissed him chastely.

"The mission isn't finished, Knight. You know I can't leave." Aya shook his head. He really should get going.

"Charges are set to five minutes. Better get outside," Pawn's voice whispered over the comm.

"They're finished already?" That pissed Aya off even more. He'd gotten emotional and then had been distracted from the target.

"I know how you feel right now, but we have to get out of here!" Knight, apparently knowing that Aya was going to argue, swung him up into his arms and carried him.

Aya struggled hard, screaming and swearing at the top of his lungs while Knight kept a tight grip on him.

Aya managed to gain enough leverage to slam the hilt of his sword under Knight's chin, making the man drop him.

He lay there for a second, dazed and trying to catch his breath from the impact of his back hitting the floor.

"Are you two okay? Were there more guards?" Yohji asked, running over to them.

"Ran decided to attack me," Knight growled, getting to his feet, he reached down and grabbed Aya by the front of his coat and practically threw him to his feet. He had a nasty bruise already forming just under his chin.

Aya nearly fell forward from the sheer force of the pull.

"Being an asshole, is he?" Yohji snorted.

"What are you standing around for, this place is about to blow!" Ken snapped at them as he and Omi ran by.

Aya wasn't going to run. He was pissed off. So he walked, albeit fast, out of the building.

"Oh, for Gods' sake!" Yohji shouted, grabbing Aya's hand and pulling him in a run just in time to duck behind a wall to avoid the debris.

"Check that out! Took out the whole building, but none of it got near the cars when they were so close!" Yohji couldn't believe it. Something should've hit the cars, that's why he'd argued about parking so close.

"Told you I had skills!" Pawn grinned, laughing as he climbed into Knight's car.

"I think you owe him an apology, Aya," Yohji backed up when Aya whirled on him, his left eye twitching.

"I think you need to mind your own damned business!"

"Don't treat me like I'm the bad guy. Right now I only see one bad guy, and that's you, now get in the goddamned car!"

Aya shook his head. If Yohji was going to be an ass he'd rather walk.

"I need some air. I'll meet you later." Aya looked up at the sky. The stars were so beautiful tonight. It was like they were twinkling even more to compete with the blaze the place had made.

"Aya, you're not thinking clearly. You have blood on your face, and there's been an explosion right here. If you walk around the cops are going to stop you."

"Trust me, Yohji, the cops might stop, but they won't stop me." Aya pulled his wrist away when Yohji tried to grab it.

"Ken, help me out here," Yohji grumbled.

Aya's eyes widened as Ken moved around to stand behind him. _I can't believe my own team is going to try to kill me_. _Ungrateful bastards!_ Aya slid his sword out of its sheath and pointed it at Yohji, daring him to try.

"Aya, we just want to get you in the car. We're not going to hurt you. Please, don't make us drag you," Yohji's eyes looked worried, but not afraid of him, more like afraid _for_ him.

_I always knew they didn't consider me one of them. They are like a family, and I'm a stranger_. Aya shook his head against those thoughts. He couldn't afford to have weak thoughts right now, not when squaring off against the other two.

A sharp pain zinged through his hand, making him drop the sword. He looked down at the dart that stuck out.

"He should be out soon. When you warned me of his moodswings I put a tranquillizer on some of my darts," Omi said with a smile. A fucking smile!

Aya gasped when the next one hit his side. His eyes widened as he noticed just how close to his stomach that one came.

"Omi, stop it! He can't have any drugs!" Yohji screamed, running to his side.

Aya fell to his knees, his vision blurring as he tried to reach for his sword with his other hand.

Ken stomped on his hand and Aya saw white.

"Ken, he was going down! Stop hurting him!" Yohji was screaming. Aya felt warm arms around him, soft kisses against his lips and eyelids.

"Its okay, baby, I'll take good care of you." Aya could feel Yohji lifting him, but couldn't do a damned thing to get away.

"You wanted it this way, right? If its gone?" Aya asked, his eyes opening a crack. He could see the tears on Yohji's cheeks.

He wanted to reach up and touch one of those tears, to feel it on his fingers, and maybe taste them.

"I don't want it gone, Aya," Yohji whispered. Aya couldn't get a real good look at him with the drugs fogging his brain, but he was sure Yohji was telling the truth.

"I'm going to get you to the doctor to make sure its okay, alright? I'll take you there right now."

"You're going to take him back to the place that made him sick? Are you high?" Ken demanded, sounding pissed off.

"Tell us what's really going on, Yohji!" Omi's voice was tight.

Aya couldn't do anything to keep the darkness from taking him.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and Evalita for your reviews. :)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Yohji held Aya against his chest the entire drive. He was worried, to say the least. He hadn't really wanted the child. He'd been honest about that part. That is, until it crossed his mind that Aya might lose the baby. Then it hit home hard. The thought of Aya not being able to hold that life in his arms squeezed his heart.

He'd seen the look in Aya's eyes. First it was terror, and then…then it was warm. Aya's face had been open, easily able to read. He could see that Aya was hurting, but he could also see a warmth that Aya probably hadn't even realized yet.

And worst of all, he'd seen the look on Aya's face when the dart pierced his side. Aya's eyes had immediately gone to his stomach, not to the dart itself. Then when Aya had looked up at him, half out of it, and asked him if he'd wanted it this way, that's when Yohji knew. He wanted this child. And he damned sure wanted it to be his.

He made sure to call the doctors to warn them that he was coming. He needed them to be ready for Aya right away.

"Are you going to say anything, or are you just going to sit there and stare at him," Ken growled from the front seat.

"I don't know what to say, so I think I'm going to stare at him," Yohji really didn't know what he could say.

"Ever since Kritiker messed with him you've been avoiding him. Then we see him in your arms, then in Knight's arms. We see him break down, and even kill an innocent person just to get the mission over with. He didn't even come in looking for the target. What the hell is going on with him?" Ken was looking at him in the rear-view mirror.

"And don't lie to us," Omi warned, fingering one of the darts that Yohji had handed to him after pulling it out of Aya's side. He knew that pulling them out meant bleeding, but keeping them in might mean more of the drug seeping into Aya's system.

"He doesn't want me to tell either one of you because he doesn't want you treating him differently,"

"You mean like _you_ did?" He knew he deserved that remark, but it still cut deep.

"Not quite. There's a difference between what it means for me and what it would mean for you. I can't explain it…just…expect a lot of shifts in his behaviour and try not to judge him for it. Its not his fault." Yohji kissed Aya's lips lightly, watching his brow furrow like he was trying to wake up but couldn't quite get there yet. Then his face changed slightly, looking like he was in pain.

"Just fucking tell us. He's out cold, he won't know you told us. We can act like we don't know!"

"Until he does something stupid that puts his life at risk because of the problem, then you'll show him you know by freaking out. I'm not telling you shit! Just drive to the goddamned hospital now!" They were already almost to the hospital, so he didn't know why he felt like they were going way too damned slow.

"Don't you think we should know if someone on our team is sick like that? Shouldn't we know the symptoms so that we can watch out for him?" Omi was trying to reason with him, but he didn't give a shit. Aya had said no, and that was that!

"Look how quickly Knight and Pawn came running to the rescue when they found out. And no, I didn't tell them, so you can get that fucking look off your faces. Kritiker told Knight, and he told Pawn. Which is why those bastards demanded to take missions with us for the next while."

"If its that serious…should Aya be going on missions at all?"

"I wouldn't say that to him if I were you," Yohji knew exactly how that would go down. He'd mentioned not going on missions and Aya had been right pissed. But he'd held back from attacking. Aya probably already had Omi on his list for the darts.

"When he's lucid again you might want to stay clear, Chibi. He's going to be right pissed at you for drugging him."

When the car pulled up in front of the hospital Yohji ran as fast as he could with Aya in his arms. He was surprised how light Aya was in his arms. He could bet that wouldn't be for long.

He wondered what he was going to do if it was an emergency once Aya was large. He could bet Aya would look adorable with a baby bump. He wondered if Aya would glow like the pregnant women he'd seen or if he'd be as vicious as a mother bear.

He ran Aya over to where the doctors were waiting.

"Has he been awake at all since…"

"No, but he's not completely out, either, his facial expression changes from time to time. I think he might be in pain," Yohji carefully lay Aya down on the stretcher.

"Do you need me to strip him down? He'll freak if you ruin his clothes," Yohji wasn't about to let them cut the clothes away like doctors were wont to do with emergency cases.

"No, that won't be necessary," the doctors let him follow them into the treatment room, closing and locking the doors behind them to keep any outsiders from knowing what was going on. He watched one of the doctors quickly stitch up Aya's side and hand.

"Unfortunately we aren't going to get a really good look at the foetus. He hasn't had the required amount of water and the child is still very small. But we should be able to read the heartbeat and at least get an idea of whether or not its moving around." Yohji nodded.

He didn't know why, but when the doctors pushed Aya's shirt up, he was half expecting there to be a bit of swelling. He was disappointed to see Aya's regular toned abs. It was funny to think of it that way. I mean who in their right mind wouldn't want to see that tight stomach!

The second Aya's eyes slid open Yohji ran over to be in his view, so that he wouldn't panic.

"Things are moving all around me, but I'm not moving," Aya murmured, his eyes all pupil.

"That's because you're stoned, Aya," Yohji snorted. Aya frowned, obviously trying to think about that. And then there was that flash of panic. Aya's breaths came in ragged, his eyes huge with worry.

"Calm him down! We can't get a reading if he freaks out!" One of the doctors shouted.

Yohji took one of Aya's hands in his own and kissed it lightly. He made sure to keep his own worry out of his eyes.

"The doctors say the baby should be fine. They just have to double check to make sure. Then I'll bring you home."

"If my baby is born with a tail I'm killing Omi," Aya growled. Yohji had to laugh at that.

"Not if I get him first, baby," Yohji pressed a kiss to Aya's lips.

"Don't call me that," Aya growled. _Well, if he's angry he can't be panicked. If anything, when he's angry he can calm down_.

"Okay. I won't, unless I really want to. Then I will risk getting punched in the face." A small smile touched Aya's lips when he said that.

"Why would people want to feel like this?" Aya asked, looking around him, and then back at Yohji.

"Because people want babies, obviously. Its worth it in the end."

"Not _that_, you moron! Stoned! Why the hell would anyone…hmm," Aya paused again, his eyelids drooping. Yohji looked down to see that the doctors were injecting Aya with something, while taking blood from his arm.

"What the fuck are you doing!" Yohji screamed. He looked down at the sweat beading on Aya's forehead and his rolling eyes.

"We developed a sedative that can be used on one that is expecting one of our special children. We needed it for the first case, unfortunately both father and child died, but not as a side affect of our drug. It will put him out so that we can do the tests without him getting worked up," the doctor didn't look like he was lying. Yohji just prayed he could trust his own judgement.

He watched the doctors run the scanner over Aya's stomach, pressing in harder than Yohji would've thought.

"Hey, you're going to hurt him if you press that hard!" Yohji was about ready to jump at them.

"He has a lot of muscle in the way, Mr. Kudou, and with the foetus so small we have to press down to find it." Yohji could've jumped for joy when the heartbeat monitor started. It was there, and still alive.

"it's a bit distressed, but not dangerously slow. Had you kept the darts in the child would've died. Consider yourself lucky. He should rest for the next twenty four hours to get the last of it out of his system. And if you can, keep him from ripping the stitches."

"That will be the hard part. He's stubborn as an ox. He won't listen unless he wants to listen." _Unless I can hold it over his head that Ken and Omi don't know. If I threaten to tell them he might do what I say!_

It was a long shot, but it had better damned well work. Yohji knew he had his work cut out for him.

Author's notes: thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews.

sorry about the delay in the chapter, we were having a problem uploading it.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Aya's eyes slid open. He was freezing. He climbed out of the bed. _Who in the hell stripped me naked and only covered me with a sheet! _He was going to kick someone's ass for making him cold.

He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater. Even his toes were frozen. He put on a pair of socks, but even then he was still so cold.

He needed some tea, or anything hot he could get his hands on. He didn't want to climb in the bath. He was too drowsy, he didn't trust himself not to fall asleep in the tub.

When he slipped out of his room he nearly ran headfirst into Ken. Ken was eyeing him like he was diseased. Yohji better not have…

"What's going on with you, Aya? Yohji said to tread carefully around you and all that shit, but I want to know what's wrong. Just how hurt are you, and is it contagious?"

Aya couldn't stop the laughter from falling from his lips at the idea of Ken 'catching the pregnancy'.

"I was serious, Aya, and…I've never seen you laugh. it's a nice sound, Aya." Aya glared at him and tried to walk away. Ken moved into his path.

"Aya, you have to tell me what's going on. I can help you. Just let go of your damned pride and talk to me!"

"Move!" Aya snapped, warning him with a glare.

"Is there a problem, Ken?" Yohji's voice sounded from behind him. Aya turned to look at Yohji.

"You left me cold!" Aya growled.

"Aya, when I left your side you were burning up. I was actually getting my coat to take you back to the hospital. Now you're cold? The doctors told me to expect both hot and cold, but to bring you in if your fever didn't break. Its going to happen on and off, but as long as it doesn't stay for long you're fine." Yohji wrapped his arms around him.

Normally Aya would've pulled away with Ken watching them so closely, but he was damned cold.

"Tell me what to do, man! I don't have a fucking clue how to help!" Ken looked genuinely worried.

"Grab a quilt for me?" Aya asked very quietly. He was so cold he felt like his breath should be visible.

"Forget the quilt. Get your ass over here, Ken." Aya's eyes widened. This was so damned embarrassing! But the second he felt Ken's warm body up against his back he started to warm up.

"Like a big group hug, Aya, nothing feels better," Yohji teased.

"Asshole," Aya said as he rested his head against Yohji's shoulder.

"What are you three doing?" Omi's voice rang out, sounding like he was trying not to laugh.

"Keeping Aya warm. Now get over here," Yohji laughed when Aya started to struggle. Ken moved over a bit and Omi joined them.

"This is important, right? You're not just harassing him, are you? Because I don't want to piss him off," Omi had every right to be worried. The little bastard had drugged him!

"Its okay, Omi, he's already pissed at you, there's not much you can do to make it worse."

"Aya, are you mad at me? I didn't know it would affect you like that. I swear I was just worried about you!" Omi pulled away, and Aya felt it the second he did. Thankfully Ken moved back in to replace the warmth.

"Omi, call Knight. Ken shouldn't have to do this. That's how you can make it up to me," Aya finally conceded.

"Tell him to leave the brat at home," he so didn't want to get stuck like this with Pawn around. The kid would probably take pictures for memories for a scrapbook or something stupid like that. 'This was mommy trying to get warm!'

"Ken asked me if I was contagious," Aya said very quietly in Yohji's ear. The blonde burst out laughing.

"Don't worry, Ken, Aya's not contagious. But its really nice that you helped with this without knowing whether or not he was."

"I…I think I'm okay," Aya carefully pulled out of Yohji and Ken's arms. He took a deep breath, waiting for the cold to come back. It didn't.

"Thank you, Ken," Aya could feel the blush spreading from his nose to his ears.

"No problem, Aya, as long as I don't have to do it when you're really pissed off," Ken shrugged, walking away like nothing happened.

"I was expecting an argument about telling him what was wrong. He wouldn't quit bothering me about it while you were out. I had to threaten to take you to the Crashers to make him stop."

"I know its selfish not to tell them, but…I just don't want them to look at me like that. I don't want their pity, and I don't want them joking behind my back." _Sometimes the things they already say hurts too much_. He'd stared down the end of the sword far more often than he'd liked over what they'd said. He would never let them know that, though, especially now.

"They wouldn't joke about it, Aya. If anything it might brighten them up a bit. Omi especially. I think Ken would warm up to the idea pretty fast, too. I mean look how much time he spends with the kids teaching them soccer. I'll bet he'd be right in there. Just picture them holding the baby. Picture Ken terrified that he might drop it." Aya chuckled at the idea. That was probably how it would go, too.

"Oh my god! You didn't just say…" Omi was standing there with wide eyes.

"Shut up, Omi!" Aya warned. He stood there with wide eyes as Omi launched at him, hugging him around the waist. He pried Omi's arms off him and shoved the boy back.

"I can't believe…how did…tell me from the beginning!" Omi reminded him of Naru right now, bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement.

"No," Aya shoved him out of the way and stormed down the stairs. This was not how he wanted this to work! Omi and Ken were supposed to think he was getting fat and moody, not pregnant. He could deal with fat and moody! Men did that all the time! Men did _Not_ get pregnant!

"Boy or girl?"

"Boy, I overheard the doctors saying something about manipulating the child's genes so that the male ones are dominant. I don't know how they're doing that, if they haven't already. It was hard to understand some of their medical babble. Well, they sort of did stuff to me, too, to make it so that I could get him pregnant. Unfortunately they did the same to Knight, so we won't know until its born…" Aya kept walking. He didn't want to hear Yohji explain everything to Omi.

Omi couldn't keep his damned mouth shut. Aya looked down at his bandaged hand. His knuckles ached. He could remember Ken stomping on his hand. He wanted to throw Ken to the ground and stomp on _his_ hand, see how he likes it! But Ken had kept him warm, so, unfortunately, they were even.

"Sorry about the hand, man. I thought you were gonna get up and kill Omi or something. Should've known that you were really going down for the count and not faking it." Aya nodded, not wanting to say a word about it.

He winced as he heard Omi squealing with joy.

"What the hell is going on upstairs? Omi and Yohji sound like they're planning something."

"They'd better not be planning anything. I'll kill them both." Aya snapped, he filled the kettle with hot water.

Omi and Yohji came down the stairs chatting like old housewives. The second Omi saw the kettle he ran over and turned it off.

"You don't know if tea will have side effects!" Omi shouted at him. Aya could feel his knuckles cracking as his hands balled up into fists.

"Aya, play nice," Yohji put a hand against his chest the second he'd noticed him heading for the knife drawer.

"Tell him to leave me alone and I'll _play_ as nice as you want," Aya winked at him. Yohji looked damned good right now. Aya hadn't noticed a second ago. The midriff baring shirt made Aya growl. He reached over and skimmed his fingers over that bit of bared flesh and looked into Yohji's eyes, daring him.

"Not right now, Aya," Aya couldn't believe he'd just been told no by Yohji of all people. Since when did Yohji say no to sex, _ever_?

"They'll leave the room fast if we just get started," Aya promised, touching his lips to Yohji's.

"Aya, no. I'm not going to get accused of taking advantage of you because your hormones are all out of whack.

"Is Knight coming?" Aya asked, shoving Yohji away.

"No, he was out. Want me to call back?"

"No, I'll go over there and surprise him. He'll be very very happy to see me," Aya grinned, and it wasn't a nice grin. He needed someone to take away the craving. If Yohji wouldn't do it then Knight would do just fine.

"Come on," Yohji grabbed his hand and led him back toward the stairs.

"So glad to have you on board," Aya snorted. Yohji could be a jealous bastard sometimes.

Author's notes: thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews.

and to the person who pointed out my mistake, it is all fixed,

so all is well!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Tell me something, Yohji. Why am I getting the chills and fever? Pregnant women don't get that," Aya griped as he pulled his shirt up over his head.

"Its because your body doesn't know what to do. Its all out of whack because of what the doctors did to you. Changing your DNA and implanting you with God knows what to make this happen, your body doesn't know how to respond to it. Or at least that's what I gathered from the doctor. I asked for details and they stared at me like I was an asshole. You'd think they'd be a bit more honest if they're doing this shit." Yohji shook his head. He had a million questions to ask the doctors, but he didn't want to do it with Aya nearby. He didn't want the redhead to freak out about any answers that he got.

"Implanted? But they didn't operate on me, I would've known about that. The strangest thing they did to me was test how long I could sleep. They said it was to see how alert I was. Do you think that's when they did all this? While I was asleep? I think I would've woken up!" Aya was getting upset again. Yohji didn't know what to do. He was just glad that embarrassment over the body warmth thing hadn't sunk in yet. Aya was going to freak when he realized he's been snuggled between Yohji and Ken.

"Why do you even want to touch me now? You didn't want to be anywhere near me yesterday, what changed?"

Yohji took Aya's arm and drew the redhead in closer. Aya pushed away, his eyes wide suddenly.

"I love you, Aya. And whatever this is, I'll stand by your side."

"What do you mean 'whatever this is?' it's a kid, Yohji. Its not hard to figure out what this is!" Aya snarled, glaring at him.

Yohji stayed still, treating Aya like a cornered animal. He backed off, taking a few careful steps back.

"I'm sorry, Aya, I didn't mean it like that." It didn't matter what he said, Aya was already pulling his shirt back on and marching out of the room.

_God, I hope all his moodswings aren't like that! What bad timing!_ Yohji ran his hands through his hair, trying to get his body to calm down. He wanted Aya. He hadn't been thinking about sex until the redhead threatened to go elsewhere.

He didn't want Aya alone with Knight, not even for a second! He didn't want the man to visit the shop, either. He wanted him gone! Of course killing him wasn't an option. If it weren't for the man loving Aya he wouldn't mind him at all. But he didn't want Knight to hold Aya in his arms. He wanted Aya to himself. He wondered if that was selfish of him.

Yohji spun when his bedroom door banged open and Ken ran in. Okay, he was now cured of the discomfort in his pants. His body relaxed, strangely enough.

"Is it true?" Ken asked, eyes wide and a little bit scared.

"Depends on what 'it' is." Yohji wasn't going to give away any information that Ken didn't already know. Hell, maybe Ken was talking about a mission or something.

"Aya…is he…is he pregnant? Omi said he was, but I didn't believe it. So I made a joke to Aya and he walked toward the knife drawer, so I took off, but…he can't be, right? This is a joke?" Ken looked so confused.

"Its not a joke. And if I were you I wouldn't crack jokes about it to Aya, he's kind of upset about it. Well, sort of. I mean he wants the child, but he's upset because he thinks he'll lose our respect, that he'll be a laughing stock," and Yohji knew that Aya's honour was already compromised, at least in Aya's eyes. Yohji didn't see him any different other than trying to stay clear when he was having a fit, and trying to help him through it.

"So what was with the body heat thing? Girls don't…"

"I know. And Aya just asked me that about two minutes ago. Its because his body isn't meant for this. So its doing the only thing it knows how, which is screwing up his system. Between hot and cold, and bitchy and kind, and horny and murderous. He's pretty fucked up. But don't go treating him any differently other than knowing when to duck and cover!" And he meant it, too. If he caught Ken or Omi treating Aya like an invalid he was going to beat them.

Of course that was something he'd been warned about by the doctors, too. The work they did on both himself and Knight would make them both fiercely protective of Aya. That made sense, considering how he'd been acting lately. _Bastards!_

"Yeah, but, well, you know, he's going to need our help, right? I mean he doesn't have hips like a woman, so how's he going to be able to support himself once his stomach gets big?"

Yohji hadn't thought about that. _Is Aya going to be bedridden? Fuck! _Aya would be even worse to deal with if he couldn't get out of bed.

"And what about giving birth? I mean, he's a guy. He might be pretty, but he sure as hell is definitely a guy!"

"Um, maybe a Caesarean section? Not really sure. I should probably ask that, too. But definitely not in front of Aya."

"Yeah, he'd just grab the phone out of your hand and rip the doctors a new one. They you wouldn't get any answers. But what about missions? He shouldn't be on…"

"Ken, I'm trying to deal with all this, okay? I'm trying not to run scared, so could you please quit grilling me?"

"Sorry," Ken frowned, he paused, like he had something left to say, but shook his head and left.

Yohji needed a shower. He needed the water to take some of the stress away. He couldn't deal with this right now!

Really what he wanted was a smoke, but he didn't trust smoking in the house with Aya running around, and he didn't feel like going outside, so a shower would have to do.

He grabbed a change of clothes and headed toward the bathroom, only to find it locked. He could hear Ken and Omi talking, so it was Aya in there.

He knocked on the door, in hopes of Aya letting him in. Unfortunately all he could hear was the sound of the shower.

A smoke it was. He put his clothes away and headed outside. What he really wanted now was to pick the lock and slip into the shower with Aya, but he didn't trust Aya not to freak and try to start a fight.

He quickly lit the cigarette and took one long drag. As the nicotine filled his lungs he felt his worries start to subside. It was cold outside, and windy enough that he had to cover the cigarette to keep from having to constantly relight it.

He paused when the bathroom door smacked open. Aya was pissed, but at who and what for, he wasn't sure. It couldn't be because he was smoking, because Aya didn't know that.

He was either pissed at him because he wanted to shoot the messenger, or he was pissed at one of the boys for something.

When he heard the familiar sound of Aya's sword unsheathing Yohji figured he'd better get in there to diffuse whatever situation this was!

He prepared his wires as he ran inside and prepared himself for the worst.

"You weren't supposed to tell him! You weren't supposed to know! Either one of you!" Aya growled. _Oh shit! And I can't hold Omi and Ken over his head, because they both know!_

"Aya, put the sword down. Come on, you don't want to do this. They're unarmed, and they couldn't help it that they found out." Yohji slowly came toward Aya, stopping only when that sword pointed at him.

Aya dropped the sword, but moved in and punched Omi hard enough to make Yohji wince.

"Aya, what the hell! Why did you hit him?" Ken shouted.

"He wasn't supposed to say anything, the less people that know the better! And he fucking drugged me!"

"Aya, you already told him you forgave him, remember?" Yohji watched Aya's face change, going from anger to rage to confusion.

"Remember the hot and cold? That's like your temper right now, Aya, you have to remember the difference between the hot and cold. Its all in the hormones."

"Have I been that horrible? Do I make you feel cold?" Aya's eyes were so sad, Yohji just wanted to wrap his arms around him, but he knew better.

"Sometimes, yeah. But its not your fault. I love you regardless, and they love you. We're family, right? Like the kids and their uncles or something?"

"Uncles don't sleep together, unless you're from the woods," Ken snorted. Yohji saw a twitch in Aya's lips. It was almost a smile.

"Are we from the woods, Aya?" Yohji knew Aya was back in a good mood, so he kissed his cheek.

"Is our baby going to call me uncle dad?" Aya whispered. Yohji laughed at that. Since when did Aya have a sense of humour that didn't involve being mean?

"You okay, Chibi?" Yohji could see Omi's cheek already swelling a bit.

"Aya, apologise to Omi, and Omi, apologise to Aya." God, he felt like the adult in a room full of kids. That wasn't how it was supposed to go! Aya was supposed to be the adult!

"I'm sorry, Omi, but…"

"No buts," Yohji cut him off.

"I'm really sorry, Aya," Omi let Ken put some ice on his cheek.

"Are we all good?" Everyone nodded. _Thank God! I've had enough shit for one day!_

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews. :)

and to the person who mentioned the error we made, we fixed it, so all is well. :)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Aya knew he was probably irritating the hell out of Yohji, but he couldn't make himself care. He was in the kitchen cooking even though Yohji had bitched at him to take it easy.

He'd gone through the house and made everything spotless, he'd done the laundry and carried it into everyone's rooms. But what else was he supposed to do? He wasn't going to sit down and let everyone take over, and he wasn't on shift today. Hell, Omi had cancelled all of his shifts in an attempt to make him relax.

He was exhausted already, which wasn't normal for him. He added the chicken to the stir fry, enjoying the different scents that tantalized his senses.

He didn't give a damn what Omi thought, he had his tea steeping on the counter, and he had a knife next to him from cutting the chicken into strips. If anyone dared to touch his tea he was going to show them exactly why they should leave it alone.

"You look tired, Aya, maybe I should take over?" Yohji pressed against him from behind, wrapping his arms around him and pressing a kiss to the side of his neck.

Aya turned in his arms and pressed flush against him, kissing him slowly, feeling Yohji rise to attention.

"Aya! If you're going to cook pay attention to the food!" Ken shouted, running over and stirring it up. Aya rolled his eyes. Nothing was going wrong with the food. He was pretty sure Ken made that remark to keep him and Yohji from having sex on the countertop.

"Tag, you're it, Ken. Keep the food cooking properly. Aya and I have some…reading to do," Yohji grinned as Ken rolled his eyes.

Aya grabbed Yohji's arm and pulled him up the stairs into his own bedroom. He liked it better than Yohji's room because it was clean. He wouldn't live like a bachelor even if he was in a house full of guys.

Aya stripped down quickly, shoving his clothes onto a chair and making Yohji do the same.

"You're sure this time, Aya?" Yohji asked, sucking up a mark on the side of his neck.

"I'll stop being sure if you keep asking questions," Aya growled. Why did Yohji think he would stop at a time like this.

Aya chuckled when Yohji threw him down onto the bed and climbed on top of him.

"Oh shit, I didn't mean to…"

"Shut up," Aya shifted under Yohji to wrap his legs around his waist, pulling him in tighter.

"Aya, where do you keep the…" Aya reached under his pillow and pulled out a container of lube, that was half empty, and handed it to him.

Yohji was quick about preparing him, watching his face for signs of pain before slowly pushing into him. Aya winced as he was stretched to his limits.

"You okay?" Yohji asked, kissing him gently. Aya nodded, breathless as he tried to relax his body. He took a few deep breaths and forced himself to calm down.

"Ready?" Yohji asked, Aya nodded again. It almost hurt as Yohji pulled out, but when he shoved back in Aya was in pure bliss. Every time Yohji thrust in he hit his prostate, making Aya gasp and arch into him.

"You look so good, baby," Yohji whispered against his lips.

"Call me that again and we'll stop," Aya warned, writhing crazily in Yohji's arms as the man kissed him senseless. He felt like his body was overloading. He scratched his nails down Yohji's back as he clung to him for dear life.

Aya cried out as he came. With a few more deep thrusts Yohji filled him with liquid heat.

"You feel so good stretched around me," Yohji whispered. Aya actually felt himself blushing. He didn't hear a lot of dirty talk, especially not directed at himself.

"Do I feel good inside you?" Yohji slowly drew out, but still held himself over him, staring into his eyes as he lowered his hips against Aya's, just pressing against him in all the right places.

Aya nodded, staring into his eyes.

"Say it, Aya, I want to hear it from your lips," Yohji kissed him again, frying his brain.

"You…feel good," Aya gently pushed Yohji off and turned onto his side to curl up against him.

A loud banging on his window woke him up. He hadn't even known he'd fallen asleep. He sat up and saw Knight standing there looking pissed.

Aya stretched and grabbed a pair of pants out of his dresser. He gently shook Yohji awake. The man could sleep through anything!

He wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling that leaving Yohji sleeping was a very bad idea.

He opened the window once Yohji had a pair of his pants on, which were a tiny bit baggy on him and about an inch two short.

"Yuushi?" Aya winced as Knight shoved him hard enough that his back hit the wall.

"What the hell is the matter with you!" Yohji screamed, trying to put Aya behind him while he faced Knight. Aya wasn't cooperative, he put himself inbetween them, glaring at Knight.

"Why does Ran spend the night in your arms! He doesn't belong to you, Yohji!" Knight snarled.

"And who exactly do you think I belong to, Yuushi?" Aya asked with a bit of warning in his voice.

"I love you! He's just going to leave you once the next good thing walks around that corner. He's said so himself that he's fucked a lot of men. How many of them do you think were still waiting for him to come back, to return his calls?" He had a point, but Aya wasn't going to believe that Yohji's words to him were empty. They couldn't be!

"I think you should leave, Yuushi, before it becomes a fight between you and I," Aya could see the hurt on Knight's face at his words.

"I should've expected as much from you, Ran. You always were an unfeeling son of a bitch!" Aya readied himself as Knight came toward him. Knight grabbed him tightly and kissed him. Aya bit as hard as he could before Knight pulled away.

"Don't ever kiss me because you're pissed off. I won't play that game with you. When you can act like an adult you can come back to talk to me, but for right now you have no business here."

Knight's shoulders slumped, he looked like he'd been beaten down. Part of Aya felt bad for that look. I mean Knight was his friend. But another part of him knew that if he didn't set him straight now that there would be worse problems down the road.

"I'll see you later, Ran, I didn't come here to upset you. I'm sorry." Aya nodded, sighing with relief as he left.

"I'm glad you don't let anyone push you around, Aya, especially right now," Yohji grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"I'm hungry. I wonder if the boys left any food for us," Aya hoped so, because he'd really been looking forward to that stir fry. His stomach grumbled in agreement.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis, Blackorcid, and Evalita for your reviews!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Yohji ate quietly with Aya. The man still wasn't eating excessively, but he was eating dessert. After they'd eaten dinner Aya had it in his head to make apple turnovers. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Aya to randomly decide to make something like that to make the house smell nice, but it was strange for him to eat it.

"Is there a problem?" Aya snapped, setting his food down and glaring at him.

"Nope, you're just cute when you're eating. I caught you licking your fingers like a kid." Yohji grinned when Aya sputtered a denial.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," he winked, and went back to eating his own.

Yohji laughed when he heard Ken and Omi come in the door…and run for the kitchen where they were eating.

"Were you going to eat them all by yourself, Yohji!" Omi pouted, but then paused when he saw Aya eating them, too.

"Don't worry, we saved you plenty," Yohji pointed to the plate on the counter.

"Are they good, Aya?" Ken asked.

"Go to hell!" Aya snapped before grabbing another one and storming out of the kitchen to sit at the table.

"Aya, he was just happy to see you eat your own food for once."

"No, he was patronizing me! I should've brought the plate with me and only given some to Omi!"

"You're being mean again. Remember the hot and cold we talked about?"

"No!" Yohji could see right through the lie, but he let it drop. Obviously Aya remembered _that _conversation!

"How are you feeling, Aya?"

"Like I'm going to make you choke on the last of that turnover if you ask me that again!"

"Whatever," Yohji was amused by Aya's attitude, when normally it would piss him off.

"Do you agree with Yuushi? Am I unfeeling? Enough people say it that…I wonder if it's the truth. Maybe I only feel on the inside, or maybe I only imagine that I feel things."

Yohji reached up and touched Aya's cheek, smiling as Aya's eyes locked on his, intent on hearing his answer.

"Aya, I think you feel more than anyone I've ever met. I just wish it hadn't been under such sad circumstances that I realized it."

"Do you mean what you said?"

"Yes," Yohji had to grin as Aya glared at him. He quickly polished off the rest of his turnover.

"You didn't ask what you said to know if you meant it," Aya pushed his hand away from his cheek.

"Well, I know I haven't lied to you in quite a while, so whatever it was I meant it. Well, except that I was watching TV the other day, because that was a total lie."

"Idiot," Aya stood up. For a second Yohji thought Aya was going to storm off, but instead he reached back and grabbed his hand. Intrigued, he let Aya lead him out of the room, he ignored Ken's snicker as he watched Aya lead him away. And Aya, strangely enough, ignored him, too.

"Where are we going, Aya?" He pretended he had no idea as they were heading up the stairs.

"This is your house, too, Yohji, and you don't know what's upstairs?" Aya tugged on his hand so hard that he almost fell as he all but ran up the stairs.

"Yours or mine?" Yohji asked as Aya paused in front of his own door.

"Yours, we don't want Yuushi to have bad timing again. I highly doubt he'd be stupid enough to try to enter your window."

"He does seem to show up at bad times," he'd wanted to wake up next to Aya, but not like that. He wanted to wake up with Aya snuggled in his arms still.

"So do you, really. You're both bad for that, remember the kicked in door? And the 'I'm watching TV?' At least you're mostly not a jerk about it, well, not on purpose anyway."

"Gee thanks, Aya," Yohji snorted as he opened his door and ushered Aya inside.

"No problem." He obviously had no clue that he'd just burned him. Yohji pulled Aya up against him and kissed him. Aya growled and pushed him until they both fell on the bed.

"Are you sure this isn't too soon? I don't want to strain you or anything."

"Yohji, you aren't _that _big," Aya snorted. Yohji had to laugh at that. Yeah, what he'd said had come out sounding like that was what he'd meant.

"So, what do you want to do?" Yohji asked with a grin, pulling a tube of lube from his end stand drawer and poured some into his hand.

"If you have to ask then you're too young to play this game."

"Really? Well, does it have something to do with this?" Yohji carefully started to stretch Aya, who writhed in response.

"Do you want to ride me?" Aya paused, thinking, and then nodded.

He flipped them so that Aya was on top, and then guided him down. Aya gasped, going completely still as he was fully seated.

"Aya, you okay?"

"Shut up! Haven't I told you not to ask me that? I'm not a girl!" Aya shouted in his face. _Okay, he's fine! _Yohji thought with an inward chuckle.

He was surprised at how fast Aya started to move, riding him hard. He'd expected him to start slow like just about everyone did, accustoming themselves to the burn before they really started moving.

"Aya, if you don't slow down you're going to hurt later," Yohji warned inbetween breaths. It felt so good, he wasn't going to last.

He could feel Aya tensing up, a sure sign that he was almost there. Yohji shifted his heels onto the bed and shoved up against him, coming inside him. Aya bit into his own fist to muffle his cry as he came.

"Feeling better?" Yohji asked as Aya slid off him and collapsed down onto the bed.

"Hn," Aya turned over onto his side and Yohji moulded to his back, wrapping his arm around him.

Author's notes: there you are, JollyBigSis, a second smutty chapter in a row to make up for forgetting. :)

Thanks for your reviews, too.

this chapter would've been posted a bit earlier, but I was distracted by the videos for Dick in a box and I'm the boss, LOL!

Allison :)


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Aya waited a few steps behind Yohji like he'd been ordered to. He didn't like following orders one bit, but he could understand why they'd done it.

After the fiasco with him killing the guard they were on their alert with him. He was just glad his body finally felt sated. The last thing he needed was to be all hormones while on the mission. But damn, Yohji looked good right now.

Yohji turned and mouthed 'are you okay?' Aya nodded. As long as they weren't here for long he was just fine.

Kritiker didn't know he'd taken on this mission, and he didn't care for them to find out, either. He didn't want to hear them bitch about it nor did he want them to find a way to segregate him.

He had his sword ready, waiting for Yohji's signal from across the room. He watched the target walk into the room, chatting with someone like they were old friends.

On Yohji's signal Aya lunged out of the shadows and shoved his sword through the man's shoulder. _Shit! I lost my aim! _He'd been aiming for the man's chest!

It was fine, though, as Yohji's wires caught the man around the neck before he could retaliate.

Aya's eyes widened as the man's friend's gun pressed to his temple. If he turned to cut him down the bullet would hit him before he had a chance.

Out of the shadows a sword-whip lashed out, driving through the man's neck. As he fell the man pulled the trigger, just barely missing Aya's head. He felt the trickle of blood slip from his cheek where the bullet had zinged.

"You alright?" Knight ran to him, checking him over for injuries.

"I'm fine. If I weren't I'd be dead." Knight nodded.

"Mission complete. Set the charges!" Knight said into his earpiece. Aya heard the affirmative from Pawn.

"Clear out!" Aya said through his own comm. Omi and Ken would listen and become scarce right away.

Aya ran, knowing that Yohji was right behind him. He couldn't help but be embarrassed. It was a simple mission and he couldn't even aim his sword properly to kill the man instantly. Instead he'd had to rely on Yohji to keep him safe, and Knight to save his life!

He shook his head angrily. He was silent as he walked to Yohji's car and climbed in the passenger door. Ken and Omi were already inside waiting. _One of these days Yohji's car is going to get stolen while we're inside killing!_

Yohji looked pissed as he climbed into the car and locked the door. Aya didn't know what to say as Yohji started the car and pulled out.

"What the hell happened back there, Aya? You almost got yourself killed!" Yohji barked at him.

"I…I don't know. I lost my aim," he felt stupid. He was better than that! He had never ever missed before! He'd been intercepted, but he had never missed when it was a clear shot!

"I hate to say it, Aya, but…"

"But you want me to sit out on missions, just sit down and get huge and let you take care of me like I'm some invalid? I think you should know me well enough that I won't let that happen. Its bad enough that you cut me out of the flower shop! Would you rather I sit in my room all by myself and just lay down and let it happen?" He felt so useless as it was. The simplest of tasks were exhausting him, and they were doting on him like he was a child!

"That wasn't what I was…"

"Yes it was!" Aya turned his head to look out the window. He wondered how long it would be before he wouldn't be able to get around on his own. He was going to go through hell, and damned if he was going to give it an early start!

"Aya, we keep you out of the flower shop because of the girls and heavy lifting! What would happen if they bumped into you while you were carrying a large pot? They could hit your stomach! And carrying the large pots and bags of soil are going to put a strain…" Omi started. Aya tuned him out. It was the only way to keep from lunging into the backseat and strangling the brat!

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly, counting to ten. Years ago he'd been in anger management and that was what they'd told him to do. It had never worked before and he was pretty sure it wouldn't work right now.

"Aya, don't be mad, I wasn't trying to get you upset…"

"Go choke on Ken!" Aya snapped, turning to glare at him.

"I can't believe he just said that!" Ken gasped, and then laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

Aya punched the dash.

"Hey, beat the shit out of your own car!" Yohji shouted, and Aya could tell that Yohji wanted to hit him. He wondered how long it would take for Yohji to treat him like Knight had yesterday.

Knight probably didn't even realize how much he'd hurt him, both physically and mentally. Calling him unfeeling, and shoving him so hard that Aya had felt a sharp pain zing through his body. And the pissed off kiss.

Aya could feel the tears strain at his eyes. _Goddamned hormones! _He hated this. He wished things could go back to normal. And a very real part of him wished he'd just gone to that damned clinic! Sure, he wanted the child, but he didn't want to lose everything else!

"Yohji, do you think things would be better if I just…maybe this is wrong. Maybe I wasn't meant for this."

"Aya, you're damned good at missions! You just need to take it easy until…"

"I wasn't talking about missions," Aya lay a hand on his stomach, looking down.

"Aya, you can't be thinking…you can't! Please, Aya, you can't!" Yohji parked the car on the side of the road and unbuckled both their seatbelts before pulling Aya into his arms.

"Please don't do that, Aya, I need you to have the baby, Aya, and I need you!" Aya sank against Yohji, and, his face hidden in Yohji's shoulder, he let the tears come.

"I just…I don't know what to do anymore. Everything's wrong. Why do things have to change?" Aya hated this. He hated feeling this way, he hated the unbidden tears and loneliness. He hated the feeling that he was completely alone. That others thought he was cold, and the idea that maybe they were right. He hated the idea that he might screw up a little kid's life. And most of all, he hated feeling helpless.

"We'll figure this out, Aya, I promise. We have to. Just…don't make any decision without me, please. I couldn't take it if…"

Remembering that Omi and Ken were in the car Aya pulled away and scrubbed the tears off his face before going back to looking out the window so that they couldn't see his face. He lay his hand against his stomach where he could feel the barest bit of swelling that Yohji hadn't noticed last night.

"You're going to be a good mom, Aya," Aya let Yohji give his hand a squeeze before doing up their seatbelts and resuming the drive home.

"How can you be so sure? I'm not a good person, so why would I be a good parent?"

"You're a better person than you give yourself credit for. You just have to see yourself how others do instead of how you see yourself. You look in the mirror and all you see is blood. I'm the same way. But you've never looked at me like I was a monster. And there's no way I could ever see you as one, either."

"He's right, Aya. You can be rude and you've killed more than the rest of us, but you also take care of us, right, Ken?" Omi's words, strangely enough, were comforting.

"Yeah, of course! We'd be dead a long time ago if you hadn't watched over us!"

A small smile touched Aya's lips.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis for your review!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Yohji was calling the doctor on his cell phone. He didn't dare call the doctor around Aya. The doctor had called earlier and made the mistake of saying 'so, how's my favourite patient?' to Aya. Aya had slammed the phone down over and over until the cradle cracked.

He was waiting on hold for Dr. Yuri.

"Mr. Kudou?" The doctor's voice sounded on the other end.

"Is it normal for his aim to be off? I've seen him reach for a cup and miss, as well as use his sword and miss. Girls don't have that problem, so what's going on?"

"It isn't necessarily his aim that is off, its that he isn't up to full strength, so its causing his body to be a little off kilter. I can guess that he's been having headaches, too. They are all just side effects. He will be fine as long as you take care of him. Make sure he eats well and gets some exercise, but also make sure he gets his rest. I'm afraid it is going to be your responsibility to make him eat when he has a craving. However, if you need us to, we can arrange for him to stay with the Crashers."

"No, I want him here. We're all doing our best to take care of him." he'd be damned if Aya was taken from him and dropped off in Knight's arms!

Yohji hung up when his door swung open. For someone who liked his privacy Aya sure as hell didn't like giving anyone else theirs.

"I made frozen food smoothies," Aya announced, sitting down beside him on the bed and handing him a large cup.

"I smell food, too, what are you cooking?"

"Tofu and garden vegetables. I also mixed red rice, brown rice, and jasmine rice to make it purple. Its cooking in a clay pot. Omi's keeping an eye on it for me right now."

"Shouldn't we have the smoothies afterward then?" Yohji looked down at his glass. Like he would ever say no to any of Aya's creations.

"It doesn't really matter what order you eat them, they're all going to be in your stomach at the same time." okay, that wasn't like Aya at all, but Yohji wasn't going to challenge him over this, so he started drinking his smoothie.

"The doctor said your loss of aim is a side effect, he said your strength wasn't as great as before. Have you been getting headaches?" Aya nodded.

"And I can't even take anything to make them stop. On top of that I have a tiny baby bouncing on my bladder all day long. Any other brain buster questions?"

"No," _why are you being a dick? _Yohji pulled Aya into his arms for a gentle kiss. The redhead leaned into him, groaning into his mouth. He carefully pushed him away. He couldn't possibly have sex again so soon. Aya had already pushed him to his limits.

"Why don't we go to the movies tonight? Just the two of us, we can watch a horror movie and I can hold you while we watch it?"

"No, I don't like movies or television as a rule," Aya growled.

"Yeah, but they have a slasher flick in 3-D that I've been dying to see. Please?" Yohji begged, giving Aya his best innocent look.

"Fine. But I won't like it." Always the stubborn one, aren't you?

"Thanks, Aya," Yohji went back to drinking his smoothie. Aya was damned good at the domestic stuff.

Ken had to yank the broom out of Aya's hands today, and Omi was apparently helping cook. Yohji was surprised Aya was putting up with all of this.

Yohji tugged Aya's shirt up a tiny bit and lay his hand on his belly, feeling the barest bit of swelling.

"No kicks yet?

"No, but I can't imagine it will be that much longer." A small smile was playing on Aya's lips.

Smiling, Yohji leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on the swollen spot.

"You look so beautiful like this. I can't wait until its showing more. You'll look so cute with a little baby belly." Aya's hands were threading in his hair as he kissed his belly again.

"Don't you think I'll look freakish? Men aren't supposed to look like this. People are going to stare at me."

"Trust me, Aya, it'll be adorable. Can you feel it alive yet?" Yohji sat up and pulled Aya into his arms, tucking his head under his chin.

"A little bit, but not like its kicking, more like I can feel some sort of connection that wasn't there before. I wonder how he will look."

"He'll either be a screaming pissed off redhead or a calm blonde. Doesn't matter which one he is, he'll be worth all the trouble." Aya laughed, obviously sharing the visual.

"Let's hope for the calm blonde," Aya chuckled.

"I don't know, I think I really hope he's a redhead. It would be a shame to have a baby without your unusual shade of red."

"I wonder how early Kritiker will want to train our child to be a murderer like us."

Yohji hadn't thought about that. Obviously that was the reason those bastards had done this in the first place, wanting to put Aya's skills to good use and make a person even stronger and more ruthless. They would start at an early age so that he wouldn't know right from wrong.

"We'll have to work extra hard to keep our child from becoming a monster like us." Yohji nodded. It was the truth of things. They were going to have their work cut out for them.

author's notes: thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews. ;)


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16

Aya looked at the clock. It was almost nine. To say he was worried was an understatement. The others had pleaded with him to stay behind while they went on the mission. He hadn't wanted to, but after a long talk with Yohji Aya had settled to sit this one out.

But every second that they were gone felt like a lifetime. He was supposed to have their backs. Even if it was an in and out mission, he'd always felt like it was his job to keep the others safe.

He knew that they could take care of themselves, but they were his family, as far as he was concerned, as much as Aya-Chan was. He knew he should visit her soon to explain everything, even though she hadn't woken in so long.

But he was afraid, plain and simple. However, right now his biggest fear was that one of them would let their guard down and end up getting hurt. He was pretty sure they wouldn't get killed, because they had each other's backs, but they could get hurt.

He hated that they thought they had to protect him. But it didn't seem to matter right now, as he watched the clock, counting the seconds.

He didn't see what the big deal was. I mean yeah, he'd screwed up twice, but they easily could've asked him to do something less strenuous. Regardless, he'd decided to back off, even just this once.

A knock at the door startled him. Aya looked out the window before opening it. He wondered what the hell Dr. Yuri would be doing here. The man didn't seem like the type to do house calls.

"What do you want?" Aya asked, moving aside to let him in. He didn't want to talk about any of this with the door open where anyone could hear.

"I presumed that you wouldn't want to come to the hospital to get your shots, so I came to you," he was smiling, but it wasn't a bad smile, altogether.

"What shots?" Aya watched the man open a medical bag on the table and take out three needles.

"You have to understand that your body wasn't meant for this. The sooner this is finished the better, but we have no way of speeding this up even further. We've already pressed our luck by changing it to five months instead of the twelve that the other men had to go through. But then it took them longer to show signs, so we hadn't sped it up to the normal nine that women go through. I'm sure you're aware that this is why your symptoms are so severe."

"What does that have to do with the shots?" He already knew all of this, he knew his moodswings weren't normal just like he knew all of his other symptoms weren't normal. They'd already covered this.

"The shots are to keep things stable. It will help with some of the symptoms, but not nearly all of them. But that isn't exactly what the shot is for, its just a good side effect. The shots are to help your body keep the child alive by sending more of the right hormones and similar things through your system in a much more accurate form than taking pills."

"Why should I trust you?" He didn't want to. He wanted to at least wait for Yohji to come back so that he knew he would be safe. But he also wasn't a coward. He wasn't going to hide behind Yohji, either.

"Because we have given you a beautiful gift. But in order to keep this gift you need to start trusting us."

Aya hated the idea of trusting the ones that had done this to him without his knowledge, but he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to lose this child. He was torn. Well, what was the worst they could do to him now? _As long as I don't grow breasts I guess It should be fine._

Aya let the doctor grab his wrist and prop his arm up on the table. He watched intently, wondering if he'd made the wrong choice as the doctor tied off his arm and tapped the vein. He watched as the needle slid into his arm. The liquid that was put into his body burned a little, but it wasn't bad enough to do more than irritate a small amount.

"I need your shoulder." Aya pulled his sleeve up and watched the doctor inject more into his system.

"One more and they you're finished." The next needle went into his hip.

"We need to see you in about a week to do this again. But you need to call me if any of your symptoms are problematic."

"Problematic is putting it lightly. I've been going out of my mind, and I think I'm making the others do the same! But you said this will help?"

"Yes, it won't cure, but it will help."

"There's hot and cold, and pissed off and crying. Its ridiculous! And whenever my mood gets worse so does Yohji's. And Yuushi's been just as bad!"

"I'm afraid I don't know what to do about Mr. Kudou and Mr. Honjou. Part of the program was to make them protective of you, so that if there ever was trouble that they would keep you safe. One of our other operatives went through this without having any sort of protection and he ended up dead. So we added something to the potential fathers to keep them alert of your safety."

"So that's why Yohji wants to spend time with me? He doesn't really feel anything?" That hurt.

"That isn't necessarily true. It just means that they are aware of your needs and the things that hurt you. It makes them desperate to get rid of those elements. Love is not something we can create, but we can give you a good protector for when you are unable to do things for yourself."

"You know that I don't need a protector. I'm an assassin, I think I can stand on my own two feet. I've only had a few problems that are debilitating, and I think those are because of the headaches. Besides, they're acting like a couple of cavemen beating their chests!"

"The shots should help take care of the headaches as well. But your body isn't up to full strength as it is trying to do something it isn't meant for, that is why you are having most of your problems. I am surprised, however, that you have done this well so far."

"You call this _well_? I've been freaking out!"

"How are you feeling right now? Do you need me to do a physical?"

"I've let you do what you came to do. I'm not letting you do anything else." He'd behaved, letting the doctor give him the shots. But he wasn't about to do anything else.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Fujimiya," the doctor smiled at him again and left.

Aya looked at the clock again. As he watched the minutes go by he stopped only to pull off the taped on cotton balls. He pushed them to the very bottom of the garbage can, hoping to hide them from the others. The last thing he needed was for them to worry.

He quickly washed his hands and was about to sit back down when he heard the sound of the door opening.

"Aya, why do you have the door unlocked? I know we locked it when we left," Ken pointed out.

"Are you all okay?" Aya asked, looking them over. All of the blood on them appeared to be backsplashes.

"We're fine. Good try at evading the question, though. Give me a little credit," Ken snorted. Aya watched Omi's shoulders tense up like he was getting ready for a fight.

"I haven't been that bad, have I?"

"Hell yeah, you have," Ken said. Omi elbowed Ken in the stomach.

"Aya, let me get cleaned up and then we'll go to the movies," Yohji kissed his cheek as he walked by. Aya waited until Yohji was out of hearing range.

"The doctor stopped in. He said I needed some shots to keep this baby alive, so I let him."

"Are you out of your mind!" Ken shouted. Aya clamped a hand over Ken's mouth to keep him from getting Yohji's attention.

"I'm sorry, it was stupid of me," Omi said in a loud voice, trying to cover for him. It made Aya sort of feel bad. If he'd been as bad as Ken had said then Omi shouldn't be covering for him at all.

"He said that not only would the shots help keep the baby alive, but that they would calm down my symptoms. I haven't been as bad today, I don't think, or I would've probably punched the doctor. I just…if I were a pregnant woman I could read some books to get an idea of what to expect. I mean there's a ton of things that women don't expect at all, but it would help me understand. There's no books on male pregnancy that aren't fictional, at least none that I've found." And he had, when they'd insisted he stay out of the shop, gone to the library and looked it up. He'd even read several books on female pregnancy in hopes of understanding how things worked.

"If he was telling the truth then that's great news!" Omi smiled at him.

"Go get cleaned up, Omi, you have blood all over your hair," Aya said with a small smile. Of course, an unbidden question arose, one that he didn't want to think about. What could've happened that Omi ended up with blood all over him? He'd obviously had to be in some sort of close combat situation or he'd have come back nearly spotless like normal.

Omi nodded and shared a smile with Ken before the two of them disappeared.

"Aya, you ready?" Yohji asked as he came down the stairs. Aya grabbed a jacket out of the closet and tugged it on. He just barely got his boots laced when Yohji came toward him.

"How did you know it had rained?" Yohji asked, looking pointedly at him like he could see right through him.

"I'm pregnant, not deaf, I could hear it. That and your boots left wet marks on the rug." Aya grinned at Yohji. He didn't want to go to the movies, but he did want to spend some time with Yohji.

"You've done a one eighty today, Aya. I feel, strangely enough, like I should be asking if you're alright." Yohji kissed him lightly on the lips, before walking with him out to the car.

"I couldn't tell you," and he really couldn't. He'd been fairly calm before the doctor had even shown up. In fact, the only thing that had put him on edge had been worrying about the others on the mission without him.

The rest of the drive was in comfortable silence.

"Are you going to be okay watching the slasher flic? I'm dying to see it, but if you need something a bit toned down we can…"

"I hardly think a movie is going to have me hiding under the seat, Yohji." Aya chuckled.

The theatre looked huge as they approached. Aya had seen it before, but had never gone inside. Somehow it looked bigger than usual, but he supposed that was because he felt out of his element.

"You okay, Aya?" Aya rolled his eyes at Yohji. How many times had he answered that question now? He was getting tired of it.

"I'll tell you when I'm not fine, okay?" Aya followed Yohji up to buy the tickets.

"Your 3-D glasses will be inside."

Aya startled when Yohji grabbed his hand, but didn't pull away. He just hadn't expected it in public. Yohji grabbed two packages of glasses out of a bin and handed one to him.

"Where do you want to sit?" Aya looked around at the rows of seats.

"Right there," Aya pointed to the midway platform. If he was going to sit for two hours in the same spot he wanted a bit of leg room.

"Oh, and Aya, no shouting at the screen, we'll get kicked out if you do."

"Why would I shout at the screen?"

"Well, sometimes in movies people do some pretty stupid things, and you want to scream at them, but you can't unless you're at home."

"Like when Ken's watching the soccer game and gets all excited? I've seen him shout happy _and_ shout mad."

"Kind of, yeah." He followed Yohji to the middle seats in the mid platform and sat down. They were perfectly aligned with the screen.

"Can I hold you, Aya?" Yohji's eyes were so expressive right now.

"These arms of the seats are in the way, unless we can remove them. Do they come off?"

"No. What I really mean is can I put my arm around you and pull you a bit closer?"

"I…I guess so, but no funny business, right?" He wouldn't let Yohji molest him in the theatre.

Aya unwrapped the glasses and smirked, picturing every nerd he'd read about in books.

"Time to get your inner geek on, Aya," Yohji snorted like he'd read his mind.

Author's notes: yes, I'm ending it there so that the next part of the date is in Yohji's POV

Thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Yohji tried not to look directly at Aya while watching the movie. I mean he was watching the movie, which was awesome, but he also didn't want to miss the few times that Aya winced. _So cute! _Yeah, the graphics for the gore scenes was way overdone, but that's what made it so great. If Aya weren't pregnant their next stop would be a haunted house. Yohji loved going to those after seeing a good horror movie, it got him in the mood for it!

He watched the naked girl run outside, screaming her lungs out while the killer advanced. Yohji hugged Aya a bit closer, surprised when the other man didn't pull away.

"Is that what we're like, Yohji?" Aya whispered.

"No, Aya, we're nothing alike. We kill the bad guys." Yohji turned his head and gave Aya a chaste kiss on the lips.

"I know, but…"

"No buts, we aren't alike even a little bit," Yohji kept his eyes locked with Aya's. Maybe it had been a bad idea to take Aya here after all. I mean there were romantic movies and fantasy movies, and just about everything under the sun, but he'd wanted to see this so much he hadn't thought about Aya's state of mind right now.

"You okay, Aya?" the redhead said nothing, just turned his head back toward the screen. He hoped it was just his hatred for that question that made him not answer.

He tried to hide his smile as he felt Aya lean into him a bit, resting as comfortably as possible into his arms.

As the movie wrapped up, Yohji felt Aya immediately pull away. Aya stood up and stretched. Yohji was surprised, to say the least, that throughout the entire movie, Aya hadn't once reached for his popcorn. He wondered if he'd be able to notice when Aya _did_ have a craving. The doctor said to basically feed him whatever he wants, if possible. But he didn't know what Aya wanted. He supposed there was no better way than asking…

"Yohji? Do you think we could pick up dinner for everyone on the way home? I don't want those two eating nothing but frozen food all night. It isn't healthy." Yohji tried not to roll his eyes. Aya was always worried about their long term health, when Yohji and the others kind of figured there wouldn't be much of a 'long term' in their line of work. It was why Aya did most of the cooking, because he didn't want his team to be unhealthy. Yohji knew that, and yet Aya didn't make too many comments about him smoking unless he did it inside. And his drinking? Well, when Aya had first joined Weiss he had been on Yohji's case non-stop about his drinking. He had given up after the first two months. In fact, sometimes Yohji went out and got drunk because he thought it was funny that it bothered Aya. He would joke with himself that 'if he couldn't get to touch Aya's skin, the least he could do was get under his skin'.

"What did you think of the movie?" Yohji linked their fingers together and tugged Aya toward the exit.

"It was insane. The killer was messy. If you want to kill someone you should just stab them, not saw their head off slowly with a hunting knife! It was…I thought some of our missions were messy, but that?"

"Too gory for you?" Yohji kissed Aya's cheek with a gentle smile. Aya looked torn, unsure how to answer.

"I just…I'm not used to seeing something like that. We never…its always the bad guy, right? But what about that guard? I…I'm the bad guy, aren't I?" Aya looked shaken, but not because of the effects, like Yohji had thought, he looked like he'd just eaten the Easter bunny.

"Aya, that wasn't…that was an isolated incident. It wasn't like you went in there thinking that you wanted to target the guy. And who knows, maybe he wasn't so innocent after all, right?" He didn't really know what to say. Yeah, Aya had fucked up bad, and someone had died because of it.

"Its that you feel remorse, that's what makes you one of the good guys."

"Fish," Aya said. Yohji stopped and stared at him. _What the hell?_

"I thought we might go and get some fish," Aya clarified, effectively changing the subject.

"You craving fish?"

"It's the only thing I can think of offhand that we haven't eaten at some point this week. I like variety. For someone so observant you should've known that." Aya was smiling at him.

"Hey, I'm not _that_ observant!" Yohji chuckled, kissing his cheek.

"Liar. Your eyes are always moving from one thing to the next, taking in each detail. To the casual observer it looks like you have attention deficit disorder."

"Pretty observant yourself." Yohji hadn't noticed Aya watching him that closely.

"You do know that I read all of your files before joining the team, right? It wasn't just that Kritiker wanted me to know, I didn't want to rush in blind, either. Rushed in blind anyway, it seems. I think I've been wearing blinders for a long time now."

"Really, how so?"

"Another time. Lets go and get some food, and then I think I want to go to bed. I'm tired. I didn't really do anything today, but I feel exhausted." Yohji could pretty well guess that Aya was tired because of the doctor visiting. Not only had he heard his teammates talking in hushed voices while he was getting ready, but he'd been the one to call the doctor in the first place and tell him when was a good time to show up. Of course Aya didn't need to know that.

Yohji climbed into the car and waited as Aya did the same. Once Aya was buckled in Yohji pulled out of the driveway.

He wondered if, for Aya's sake, Knight would've made the same decision. He hoped so. As much as he despised the man being anywhere near Aya, it was good to know that if anything happened to him that Aya still had someone to take care of him. Omi and Ken were doing their best by staying out of his way when he was at his worst, and spending time with him when he was at his best. He'd been surprised that he hadn't really had to talk to them about what to do. I mean he'd had a few scuffles over it, but other than that the boys were doing fine on their own.

"You think too much," Aya snorted. Yohji had to laugh at that.

"I have _never_ been accused of thinking too much, its even funnier because of the person that's saying it to me!" Yohji watched Aya's mouth open to argue the point, but then he just shrugged and let it go. He'd been expecting a verbal battle over it, he knew Aya hated it when he played dumb.

"What kind of fish do you want? I say we go with haddock," Yohji said as he pulled up in front of a restaurant.

"Okay," Aya agreed as they both got out of the car.

"Are you coming?" Aya asked, eyeing him when he made no move to go inside.

"I'm going to have a smoke, you go on ahead." He waited until Aya was out of range before lighting up a cigarette _and _pulling out his cell.

"Hey, how's it coming along?" Yohji asked, still whispering even though he knew there was no way Aya could hear him.

_It's a bit hard to do all this in just two and a half hours! But I think we're making progress. All I have to say is thank God the walls were already blue or we'd be screwed! And Omi hit me with the nail gun. My hand is all bandaged up. Didn't get any blood on the floor though, so I guess that was somehow a plus,_ Ken said with a bit of a laugh.

"You guys are the best. He's going to love it." Yohji quickly inhaled as much of his cigarette as he could when he saw Aya come outside, then scratched it until it burned out before stuffing it back in the pack.

He blew out the last breath of fresh nicotine before Aya was anywhere nearby.

"Who were you calling?" Aya asked suspiciously.'

"I was calling Ken so they know food is on the way, otherwise they're going to nuke something in the microwave." He grinned when Aya wrinkled his nose at the idea.

"We need to go to the movies again soon. That was a lot of fun," Yohji said as he climbed back into the car.

"I'll think about it." Aya conceded.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis for your review! :)


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Aya rolled his eyes at Yohji as the man took the food containers from his hands._ I carried it to the car, its not like I had trouble then!_ He didn't say a word, though.

"I'll go and get the boys," Aya said. Yohji shoved the food onto the counter and ran at him, catching him by the arm when he went for the stairs.

"Is there a problem?" Aya snapped, not pleased at being manhandled.

"Do you trust me, Aya?" Yohji asked, pulling a scarf out of his pocket.

"That depends on what that is for?" Aya pointed at the black cloth.

"it's a blindfold! Wait! Don't get mad! The boys and I have a surprise for you!" Yohji was grinning from ear to ear. Well, if Omi and Ken were involved it wouldn't be anything dirty.

Aya nodded with a huff. He didn't like surprises, and he sure as hell didn't like blindfolds.

"I'll make sure you don't fall," Yohji wrapped the soft black fabric over his eyes and tied it off in the back.

"I've walked up these stairs a thousand times, I don't think I'll fall down them," Aya snorted.

"Yeah, well, I won't take that chance regardless," Yohji kissed him lightly on the lips. "If it weren't for the surprise upstairs I would be taking advantage of you right now," Yohji whispered in his ear. Aya shuddered, growing instantly hard at the idea. Since when do I like that idea?

When Aya stumbled on the one stair he expected Yohji to tease him with a 'so there!' of some sort, but the blonde said nothing, just helped him continue up the stairs.

Yohji was leading him pretty far down the hall. There was only one thing over there, the study. He didn't even know why they still had that stupid room. Omi had a laptop that he and Ken usually used, and there was a main computer downstairs. There was a desk in the room that was covered in an inch of dust that Aya left alone. He always kept the door closed. He would clean anything, but not the study. Not when no one ever even went inside!

"Why are we going into the study? Its disgusting in there!" Aya growled, preparing himself for the onslaught of dry filthy air and dingy carpet as Yohji opened the door.

Yohji untied the blindfold and pulled it away.

Aya was floored by what he saw. This couldn't be the same room!

Omi and Ken were grinning from ear to ear as Aya took in the room. They'd turned it into a baby room. With a bassinet and new carpet. There were various baby things in the room, like a play pen filled with stuffed toys, baby gates.

"Yes, they're safety approved gates," Yohji snorted, noticing the way he was eyeing them.

The thing that had Aya's attention the most was the border around the room. It wasn't wallpaper, it was a shelf that went all around the room and curved up around the door. On the shelf were wooden tracks, and on the tracks a train was making its way around the room.

There were end stands with rotating lamps. A bookcase filled with kids books. A changing table and dresser were in the far end of the room. Aya just stared in shock for what must've been the longest time.

"Well, what do you think?" Ken asked, wrapping an arm around Omi's shoulders. "Yohji bought all the stuff and let us go crazy with it!"

"When did you have time to do all this? This couldn't have been in two and a half hours." Aya's eyes caught the mobile over the crib, which was an assortment of tiny plush cats.

"We did the rug the other day when you went out to visit your sister. The rest was us running around in two and a half hours."

"Its amazing," Aya's eyes found the train again. It was…beyond description how perfect this room was! He could feel tears rimming his eyes as he took in the room again.

His eyes suddenly noticed bandages all over Ken's right hand.

"What happened?"

"Omi with a nail gun happened." Ken snorted.

"It was an accident!" Omi elbowed him in the ribs.

"Abuse!" Ken cried in mock pain. Aya shook his head at the two with a grin. And he'd thought that a date with Yohji was the highlight of his day! This definitely topped it. It was a perfect day!

"Aya brought home some fish. Lets go and eat while its hot," Yohji kissed Aya soundly before turning and leading him down the hall.

"Thank you, all of you," Aya said, feeling warm inside.

"Abuse, my ass!" Omi laughed, chasing Ken down the hall, nearly knocking him in the process.

"Settle down, children, you almost hurt mommy," Yohji teased. Aya flipped him off with a smile and followed them down the stairs.

His stomach grumbled, but it wasn't really fish that he wanted. But fish was food for the brain, so it was what he was going to eat. But damn, he really wanted some shelled peanuts! They had peanuts in the cupboard, but he wanted shelled ones.

He loved fish, but he didn't really want it, which was odd. Usually as soon as he thought of fish he would think of a new way to cook it. It was up there on his favourite foods.

And when he`d gone in to get the fish it had smelled so damned good! Now he was wrinkling his nose at it as Yohji started dishing it out onto plates.

"Something wrong, Aya?" Yohji asked, stopping what he was doing.

"I don't want fish," Aya said with a frown.

"Well, what do you want? I can go and pick something up for you," Yohji was grinning. Aya couldn't figure out for the life of him why.

"You've already done enough," Aya could feel the weepies coming. He just felt bad about everyone doing so much for him, he didn't want to go asking for anything.

"Aya, please? I like doing things for you, it makes me feel useful," Yohji pleaded with his best puppy dog eyes. Aya chuckled and wrapped his arms around Yohji's neck.

"Peanuts. Can you get me some…"

"We have some…"

"No, the ones in the shells. They're better and unsalted!"

"Stop it!" Omi shouted at Ken, startling Aya. He turned in time to see Omi smack Ken's hand.

"Ow!" Ken cried out, shaking the hand that Omi had smacked. His bandaged hand.

"Sorry!"

As much as Aya wanted the food, he didn't want Yohji to leave the house, he wanted to relax in his arms and go to sleep. Aya followed Yohji to the door.

"You stay here, you're exhausted. Besides, someone has to keep heckle and jeckle over there from making Ken's injury worse."

Aya had to laugh at that, already hearing the two of them play fighting in the other room.

"Thanks," Aya leaned in and kissed Yohji, part of him wanted more than just one kiss, but most of him was just too exhausted.

"I'll be back in ten minutes."

Aya closed the door behind Yohji and locked it. The boys had gone silent. _They must be eating_.

Aya walked back into the kitchen and his eyes went as wide as saucers. Ken and Omi were still on the floor, but definitely not fighting. They were kissing like they needed each other to live.

Aya cleared his throat loudly as he sat down at the table.

"Oh! Aya! I…we…"

"Omi was choking and I…"

"I'm a grown man who is pregnant, I think I might have an inkling of what you were really doing," Aya snorted. They giggled, straightening their dishevelled clothes before sitting down.

"Cheers to pregnant men!" Ken shouted even though none of them had cups.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis, Blackorcid, and Ranma for your reviews. ;)


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Yohji watched Omi curiously as the boy brought out a dart board and a few traditional darts.

"Aya, wanna play?" Omi asked, his face innocent even though Yohji knew he had some sort of agenda.

"What's at stake?" Aya asked, approaching. Omi handed him the darts.

"Well, if I win you have to let us do the cooking and cleaning for a week."

"Hardly seems like much of a prize to me," he had a point. Yohji didn't exactly see doing chores as a win.

"If I win you have to leave me alone about housework until I can't do it anymore." Damn. Yohji really hoped Omi won. He never thought he'd ever want to do chores. But to see Aya actually relax would be nice. The redhead was already pushing himself too much.

Yohji watched Aya aim the first dart, concentrating for a split second before letting it fly. _Bullseye! Shit!_

Omi didn't even take a second, he just threw it and got it dead on, knocking Aya's off the board.

"Wait!" Yohji cried before pulling Omi's dart out. Ken scribbled the scores down on paper.

"Until one of us screws it up," Omi said with a wide grin that made him look devious!

Yohji watched them go at it shot for shot. It seemed to go on forever. He was concentrating on Aya's hands, as if by the sheer power of his mind he could make the redhead screw up.

It wasn't working. He paused when he noticed Aya's laboured breathing. He'd been watching the darts, not Aya. There was sweat beading on his forehead which Yohji could guess had nothing to do with the darts.

"Aya?" Yohji ran to his side and caught him when he doubled over. The doctor had warned them of this, that the strain on Aya's system would put him in a lot of pain. His body wasn't given the time it takes for a woman's body to expand, it was happening faster than it should, and the stretching was hurting him, as well as the child developing faster inside of him. It was nothing that the doctor's special painkillers wouldn't fix. Ken was already there with the needle. They kept them handy at all times. They had them in every room in the house. The doctor had said that the strain on Aya's system from dealing with the pain was more dangerous than the pain itself. So they had to be ready to dose him at any time.

Yohji was just damned lucky that the doctors had invented a painkiller that wouldn't harm the foetus. Otherwise he'd have a fight on his hands if he tried to get Aya to take anything. The man hated medication on a regular day, much less with a baby on board.

Not that Yohji would give him anything more than an herbal tea at this point. Yohji carefully injected the liquid into Aya's side, directing it right at the pain source. He hated the idea of putting a needle there, but the doctor said it was the only way to get it through his system fast enough to keep him from straining.

"Aya, I need you to try to calm down," Yohji pulled Aya into his lap and held onto him.

"You try to calm down when…" Aya curled a bit tighter in on himself.

"The doctor said this is normal, but if you don't calm down you might cause….just focus on breathing deeply."

"Are you sure? I thought I just might hold my breath and see how it pans out," Aya growled. Yohji had to force himself not to chuckle at that. He sighed with relief when Aya's body started unwinding from its coiled position.

"Hey there, baby daddy, you okay?" Ken leaned over and teased, backing up just in time to avoid a swipe from Aya's fist.

"Ken, don't joke, not right now," Omi smacked him in the back of his head.

"I was just trying to help," Ken pouted.

"How?" Yohji asked with a snort as he helped Aya to his feet. Aya looked well and truly sedated. His eyes were all pupil.

"Reminds me of my old college days," Yohji grinned, kissing Aya on the lips.

"Yohji, can you get me some shrimp? Maybe with rice?" Aya asked, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling into his shoulder.

"I'll get you whatever you want," Yohji smiled. Aya was so cute when he was like this. The first time he'd seen Aya high as a kite he'd thought he was going to get attacked. But no, it tended to make Aya more affectionate.

"I want to come with you. I have a game we can play," Aya purred in his ear. Yohji shuddered at what the implications of that tone meant.

"Can we come, too?" Ken asked.

"Ken, they're going to…um…you know,"

"What are you talking about, Omi? Aya said he wants food. Why can't I go?" Yohji laughed when Ken's face finally took on the look of understanding.

"You two are having sex in the car? Gross!" Ken ducked in time to avoid Omi's slap.

"Yeah, we'll do it right where _you_ usually sit," Aya snorted before nibbling on the side of Yohji's neck. He loved it when Aya did that, it always made him stand up to full attention.

"Wha…" this time when Omi thwacked him upside the head Ken wasn't fast enough to dodge.

You boys be good while we're gone. Broaden your horizons and go try some naked slam dancing." Aya was hot on his heels, clinging to his arm as they headed out the door to the car.

"So, Aya, what's this game you want to play?" Yohji asked with a grin as he started up the car.

"Its called try to concentrate on the road," Aya's grin was devilish. Yohji had a feeling he knew what his redhead was up to. He just hoped to hell he didn't crash or get pulled over.

Aya's hands were in his zipper already, prying it open.

"Your pants are so tight, I don't know how you're going to get it back in there if you get pulled over," Aya grinned, before leaning down and taking him in his mouth.

Yohji did his best to concentrate on driving, but it was hard with Aya driving him mad. Damn, he was so good at it!

"I think it'll be harder explaining how there was suddenly another person in the car," Yohji groaned as Aya's tongue drove him to the brink of madness. He came and Aya swallowed all of it.

"I think we need a rematch later."

"Any time, baby," Yohji kissed his lips before returning to the road to get Aya his shrimp and rice.

"Yuushi called earlier, you know. He wants to come over and see how I'm doing," Aya said, completely breaking the happy atmosphere.

"Did you say yes?"

"Yeah. What if the baby is his? I…I don't want it to be. I want this to be ours. But I care about Yuushi, he's a good friend when he's not being an ass."

Yohji knew that Aya was his, he could tell every time the man looked at him. But he didn't want to take the chance of seeing him look at Knight that way, too.

Why was it that even though he had everything he wanted, he was still nervous about Aya seeing Knight?

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis, Blackorcid, and Ranma for your reviews. :)

by the way, Ranma, I am as stumped as you as to what happened there.

It weird to have two people by the same name review a story.

I mean with Allison and I there are two of us, but we know each other and post most reviews together

after we've both read the story. we're in this account together.

but what are the odds? I would make a wish, because anything that happens coincidentally out of the blue

deserves to be wished upon!


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Aya still felt funny when they got home. Yohji was still teasing him about it, too. As he walked with Yohji up the driveway he noticed Knight's car. Trying to walk in a straight line would've been hilarious right now, but not when Knight would probably notice something was wrong.

He'd hoped that the painkillers would be out of his system by the time Knight showed up. No such luck.

"Shit!" Yohji growled, obviously thinking the same thing. The shit was about to hit the fan.

"Aya, look at me." Aya looked into Yohji's eyes, unsure of what the man was looking for.

"Your eyes are still beyond fucked up. There's no way we're going to be able to hide it." Oh yeah, he remembered Yohji mentioning that his eyes looked fucked, all pupil or something like that.

"Want to give them a show? I could make it worth your while," Aya winked at him, wondering just how far Yohji would go in front of everyone. He wanted to make Ken squawk again, it had been so funny last time.

Aya fumbled with his keys, but managed to get the door unlocked and open. He took the Styrofoam container out of Yohji's hands and all but ran to the table. He was soooo hungry!

He barely acknowledged Knight and Pawn, who were chatting with Omi and Ken. Immediately everyone gravitated to him while he started eating the shrimp and rice. It was so good!

"How are you feeling, Ran?" Knight asked, sitting down beside him.

"like I want everyone to quit asking me that," Aya snorted. He could practically feel the hostility coming off Yohji behind him.

"The boys did an amazing job on the nursery! Its so cool!" Pawn chirped, sitting down across from him.

"Yes it is," Aya tried to focus on the food and not the attention he was getting. He felt like he was under a microscope.

"Ran?" Aya looked up at Knight, and quickly realized his mistake when he saw the man's jaw tighten.

"What the hell is going on here?" Knight shouted, rising to his feet. It was going to be hard to get the man to listen, now.

"Naru, get Ran into the car right now! We're taking him home!"

Aya stood up when Pawn came toward him.

"Come on, Ran, you'll be safe at our place," Naru tried to take him by the arm. Aya shoved him over, glaring down at him.

"I'm _safe_ right where I am!" I either one of them tried to drag him off he was going to beat the hell out of them. He felt a tiny twinge of pain in his stomach.

He was worried, though, when he saw Knight and Yohji circling each other like a couple of animals.

"If you two act like assholes I'm leaving, and neither one of you will find me. Now sit the fuck down and act like adults!" Aya hissed, startling both of them.

"The doctors made up a drug that helps me with the pain that won't hurt the baby, so sit down and behave!"

"You could've said that from the start!" Knight snapped, looking about ready kill him.

"Like you would've listened once you'd gone all caveman?"

"I love you, Goddamnit! I can give you more than he can! I know you want to stay here, but its not where you're meant to be! What you and I have is real!" Knight pleaded, but Aya could see the command behind it. And there was no way in hell he was going to play the good wifey wife and just leave with him.

"You're a good friend, Knight, but I belong here. I…I love Yohji, I need to stay here with him. I'm safe here. You can visit me any time you like as long as you understand that you and I will never be anything more than friends, and that I need to be here." Aya didn't want to hurt Knight. And he knew that using his code name instead of his real name nailed the message home.

"There is a fifty fifty chance that the child is mine, Ran, I need to be a part of this, do you understand? I need to be there for you!"

"And you can be, but you have to accept the fact that I don't love you. Besides, its not a fifty fifty, its more like a seventy five twenty five or something. The doctor said Yohji is probably the father," Aya walked over to Yohji and linked their fingers. He felt like he should be on one of those talk shows arguing and throwing chairs while they read the DNA tests.

"I…I think I should go. I have to think about what you said and whether or not I can do that. I want to be there for you, but I don't know if I can accept your terms."

"Yuushi! That's not fair and you know it!" Pawn cried out, looking pissed at the whole situation.

"He isn't doing it to hurt you, he just doesn't want this to keep happening. Give him a freaking break! Every time you stop in here you don't do anything but pick fights with Yohji. You're supposed to be here for Aya. So be here for him and quit being a selfish bastard," Ken griped.

"You're making me tired, Yuushi," Aya said. He paused, pain shooting through his body. He did his best to hide it, walking away.

Omi, seeming to notice, followed him.

"You don't look so good, Aya. We should get you to the doctor."

Aya nodded in agreement. It hurt so much he wanted to scream, and the painkillers weren't doing a thing for it.

"Yohji? A little help here!" Omi shouted, grabbing him by the arm and trying to support him. It was hard, though, because Omi was so much smaller than him.

"Shit! What happened, Aya?" Yohji swung him up into his arms.

"I can walk…"

"No, you can't. When did the pain start? And why the hell didn't you say anything?" Yohji's voice was frantic.

"I'm so tired," Aya groaned, he felt like his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds, trying to drag him into unconsciousness.

He took a few deep breaths and tried to focus. It was hard.

"Aya, stay with me," Yohji said as he approached the car.

"Ken, you're driving, but if you drive like a maniac I'm going to kick the shit out of you," Yohji warned. Aya snorted at that. Yohji was sitting in the passenger seat with Aya in his lap.

"You're comfortable," Aya murmured, resting against him. Yohji made a good pillow. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis for your review, and for helping me gang up on Allison, LOL!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Yohji refused to leave the room as the doctors took care of Aya.

"What's wrong with him?"

"The child moved inside of him and is pressing on his internal organs. Because this is an unnatural birth things like this can happen easily. If you hadn't brought him in when you did he might've died. We have to be very careful with situations like this. If the child presses on his organs and pushes them upward they can squeeze against his heart."

"What can we do to prevent this?" Yohji lay his hand against Aya's forehead.

"I'm afraid that this was caused by distress. There is a psychic link to the child that is meant to help Mr. Fujimiya comfort the child as it grows rapidly. However, if he is distressed the child will be as well. it's a delicate balance. We developed this psychic link to help make things easier, but it seems to be having the opposite effect."

"Any other surprises you want to nail us with, doc? Because as far as I can see, everything you've done to 'help' has backfired. Knight and I can't stop fighting, which is causing Aya distress, which is causing the kid to shift into his organs. You had to know that this is a stupid ass idea. Can you do something to help him that doesn't involve him getting stoned? I mean he's a cute little stoner, but he can't live like that day in and day out!"

"We are working on it, Mr. Kudou. But Mr. Fujimiya is not making it easy on us by avoiding us. He shows up for his shots, but refuses his check ups."

"I'm working on that. He's stubborn as an ox," it was a chore just getting Aya in for the shots.

Yohji looked at Aya's stitches and bandages from the surgery. Because he wasn't a woman they'd had to operate on his stomach just to guide the baby downwards to where it should be.

Yohji nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Aya's fingers skim over his midriff. He'd been so intent on the doctor that he'd missed Aya's eyes sliding open.

"How are you feeling, Aya," Yohji kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Come back down here, Yohji," Aya purred, a grin brightening up his face.

"And what will you do if I come down there?" Yohji said with a chuckle. _My little stoner!_

"What won't I do?" Aya's lusty eyes turned to the doctor.

"Want to watch?" Aya snickered. The doctor blushed and looked away. "He's a pervert," Aya was enjoying the doctor sputtering a little too much.

"Are you in any pain, Aya?" Yohji picked Aya up off the bed.

"Of course I am, my body's been sliced open and sewn shut," Aya slid a hand over his chest and up to his neck.

"Stop that! I don't want to drop you!" Yohji couldn't move away from Aya's questing hands without dropping him on the floor.

"But you feel so good!" Aya leaned in and licked the side of his neck.

"Goddamn it, Aya! Stop that! I swear I'll get Ken to carry you if you don't behave."

"Eew, I don't want to have sex with Ken, what's the matter with you!" Aya cried out, looking at him like he was a villain.

"Did I hear my name?" Ken asked as Yohji made his way into the waiting room.

"That sick bastard wants me to have sex with you!" Aya squawked.

"I do not! Quit acting like a spaz!" Yohji laughed.

"Go to hell!" Aya screeched, then winced in pain as it strained the incision.

"How are you feeling, Ran?" Pawn asked, running toward him.

"Can I kill him?" Aya pouted.

"No more asking him how he's doing. At least until he's healed. I think it would be in your best interest to just not ask." Knight said as he approached. Yohji bristled as he watched Knight wipe the sweaty bangs out of Aya's eyes.

"You had us all worried," Knight's smile was kind. Yohji wondered how Knight could have that look on his face after such a harsh rejection. I mean he knew Knight wouldn't stop loving Aya, but if the positions were reversed Yohji knew that he wouldn't be able to handle it quite this well. I mean he'd still run to Aya's side, but he would still be a tad bitter about it.

"We should stop at the bakery on the way home! They have really good cream puffs," Aya mused.

Yohji wondered how well Aya was going to deal with this new pain. I mean he wasn't going to be able to have a real bath for a while. He was going to need sponge baths, and he was going to have a hard time getting around.

Yohji knew this was going to come back on him. Aya was going to be an asshole every time he couldn't do something. He was dreading when Aya came to his senses and realized this.

"Cream puffs it is, Aya."

"Hell yeah!" Ken shouted. Omi giggled and linked arms with him.

"Know what I'm going to do when we get home?" Aya whispered.

"Stuff your face full of cream puffs?" Yohji snorted.

"After that! I'm going to climb…"

"No way! No sex talk when I'm sitting next to you!" Ken squeaked as he got behind the wheel.

"I was going to say climb the counters and find my other tea set." Aya chuckled.

"Liar," Yohji grinned as he sat down with Aya in his arms. He held tight to Aya, who was trying to turn around in his arms. No way in hell was he letting Aya straddle him in the car, next thing he'd know Aya would be pulling at his clothes. And he really didn't want to give Omi and Ken a show.

"You're not playing fair," Aya growled.

"And you are?" Yohji kissed the top of his head.

"You're acting like a horny beast," Yohji teased.

"Its not me, I swear, it's the baby!" Aya laughed, obviously realizing how bad that had just sounded.

"That's just sick. You're an ass!" Yohji couldn't help but laugh.

"Gross!" Ken cried, while Omi just sat in the back laughing until he was red in the face.

"How long do we have to keep him stoned for? Not that I'm complaining. He's pretty agreeable like this." Ken asked.

"Not sure, until the doctor figures out what to do," Aya was either going to be the life of the party or the death of them.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews!


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Aya didn't want to tell the others how much pain he was in. He didn't want to be out of control anymore. I mean he'd gotten along with most of Weiss better when he was high, but he didn't want to spend the next five months like that. He'd rather deal with the pain for as long as possible.

"You look exhausted, Aya. Maybe you should go back to bed," Yohji suggested, laying a hand on his forehead.

"I'm fine. I want more of those cream puffs. Are there any left?" Aya asked, rummaging through the fridge.

He grinned as he found a bag full of them. _Jackpot! _He grabbed the bag and tossed it on the table.

"You're so cute!" Yohji chuckled, kissing his forehead as he sat down.

"We need to keep these in the house at all times! They're so good!" Aya stuffed three of them in his mouth.

"You're going to choke," Yohji warned. Aya flipped him off. He wasn't a moron, he wasn't going to eat so many of them that he would choke!

"Do you need another shot, Aya?" Ken asked. _So, they prefer me high. Do they really hate me this much?_ Aya could feel the tears straining at his eyes. _Damned hormones! _

"Go away!" Aya hissed. He was one month pregnant now. Only four months to go. He had a distinctive bump, regardless of how small it was. And he was starting to feel slight movement inside.

Whenever no one was looking he would lay his hands on his stomach to try to feel the child. He couldn't feel it with his hands yet, but he could feel it inside.

"Aya, I've called Pawn over to keep you company tonight. We have a mission." Yohji said cautiously as he sat down next to him.

"Why Naru? Why not Yuushi?" Of course he already knew the answer to that. Yohji would sooner bite off his own tongue than call Knight. But he knew Knight would follow Pawn over regardless.

He wanted to come out on the mission, but knew better, not when he was full of stitches.

"We're borrowing Rook to take your place so that we still have more backup," Omi said, hoping it would ease his fears. It did, actually. And the irony wasn't lost on him.

When Masato had been hurt Aya had taken his place. It was almost funny that the positions were now reversed.

Aya eyed the last cream puff. He wanted more. He pouted as he held the last one in his hands.

"I'll go and buy you some more," Yohji snickered, kissing his forehead again and heading toward the door.

"Apple crisp, too! Oh, and pickles, for later!" he was surprised that Yohji still had a good sense of humour about making food runs. He himself would've gotten pissed after the first few rounds. Was there anything else he wanted?

"And milk! Ken's being a bastard and putting the empty carton back in the fridge!" He couldn't think of anything else off the top of his head. Ken just laughed and went back to watching television.

"Should I write a list?" Yohji teased as he headed out the door.

"I hope he's quick. I want more." Aya lay his head against the table, enjoying the coolness against his cheek. He was overheating again.

Omi, having noticed, came toward him and pulled him up to place a cold cloth against his forehead.

Aya wished he could run a cold bath and just submerge himself, but he'd been warned about soaking the stitches. An icepack pressed against his back startled him, but he sighed with relief. It felt so good.

"Thank you," Aya whispered, closing his eyes and just enjoying the relief from the heat.

"No problem," Ken said as he held the ice pack in place.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Omi asked. Aya peered up at him without moving.

"No, the doctor said the problem with body temperature would be an annoyance, but not dangerous. He said it would be like heat flashes only more intense and with both hot and cold. Remember before?" He was pretty sure they hadn't forgotten the embarrassing group hug from when this had all started.

Aya screamed when he felt the needle puncture his side. He shoved Omi away, and the only thing keeping him from beating the shit out of Omi was Ken struggling with him.

"How _dare_ you!" Aya shouted, flailing in Ken's arms.

"I know you don't want to take it, Aya, but Yohji said that most of your symptoms would ease up with the drug! Do you really want to risk the child by putting unneeded stress on your body!" Ken shouted. Right now Aya didn't give a shit! I mean he loved the baby, and definitely wanted to keep it. But how dare they betray his trust like that!

Aya winced as the stitches pulled. They weren't ripping, but he could feel them straining. If he wasn't careful they were going to rip. It hurt like hell!

He stopped fighting, sagging in Ken's arms. He needed to lay down.

"Couch," Aya mumbled.

"Alright, I've got you," Ken all but dragged him to the couch and helped him lay down.

"Can we get you anything, Aya?" Omi asked, not meeting his eyes.

"Blanket," he curled up in a ball. He was cold. Not unbearably cold like he would be if he were having one of those cold flashes, but he could feel the chill in the air.

Aya waited, letting Omi cover him in the blanket before punching Omi in the stomach.

"Ask next time!" Aya snapped. "And thank you for the blanket," he added. Omi shouldn't have injected him without asking.

Ken helped Omi up off the ground, checking him over to make sure he was alright.

"You didn't have to hit him, Aya!" Ken shouted.

"Yes I did. it's a good deterrent." Aya yawned and closed his eyes. He was so tired.

He woke to fingers weaving themselves through his hair.

"How are you feeling?" Yohji asked. Aya looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"You look like you're feeling pretty damned good right now." Aya nodded. Yeah, he was. The drugs had kicked in and he wasn't in any pain.

"I hear you hit Omi. I'm thinking I can guess why. He dosed you, didn't he? He did it for your own good."

"Should've asked," Yohji's fingers felt so good in his hair. It could put him right back to sleep.

"I bought you more cream puffs." Aya's eyes shot open.

"Thought that would get you up."

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis for your review. :)


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Yohji could tell that Omi and Ken were glad to have a break from Aya. He couldn't blame them after earlier. Even a mission was better than getting punched in the stomach. And Ken was protective over Omi to begin with. He'd had to keep from hitting Aya in response. And Yohji, as usual, was stuck in the middle of them, trying to keep them away from each other.

Of course it hadn't been a problem when they'd left, because Aya had already been dosed. What he hated, though, was leaving Aya behind with Knight while he went on the mission. He'd hoped that Pawn was the only one coming, but Knight had shown up, too.

It pissed him off. He'd grinned when Aya had pulled the blankets up over his head to escape when Pawn started talking a mile a minute. _Torture doesn't have to physically hurt_.

Yohji waited, hoping Masato would wait for his signal. He didn't know the man, and it was hard to work with someone you'd never met. But then again, he'd had to work with Aya with barely meeting and on missions they'd done great. Socially they'd clashed big time for the longest time. Yohji had even felt a bit bitter toward Aya for not understanding that he had feelings for him. It was strange how things had changed so quickly. Now he had Aya and there was a baby on the way. Never in a million years would he have visualized this scenario. The only thing that put a damper on things was when Knight reminded him that the child might not be his.

It had better be his! He felt connected to Aya in a way that he'd never been with anyone, he didn't want Knight to take everything away.

Yohji signalled Masato and then moved in, unleashing his wires. In one way he was glad there was a mission, so he could let out all of the stress over the father question. But in another way, he'd had to leave Aya alone with Knight. He hoped that the side effects of the drug wouldn't throw Aya into Knight's arms.

Yohji had to ignore the lewd remarks Aya had made from the couch when he'd seen Yohji in mission gear. It was cute to hear that sort of talk from Aya, but he'd had to ignore it and leave, when he'd wanted nothing more than to give in to Aya and stay behind.

It was strange to have to be the one to remind Aya that the mission was more important. Aya had huffed, and then ignored him. Of course, if Aya wasn't stoned he wouldn't have had to even tell Aya that the mission came first. Aya would've behaved.

He was really enjoying Aya stoned, though, he was so cute! And damn did he know how to turn him on with just a few words or even just one really good stare.

"Mission accomplished, boys," Masato's voice rang out on the comm. Yohji grinned and nodded. It was a simple mission, but it had taken a lot of waiting around. The target hadn't arrived on time, so they'd had to wait it out.

"So, how's Ran been doing? I didn't have much of a chance to talk to him, not that he would answer that question anyway from what I've heard."

"He's driving the boys crazy, but you really need to see him stoned. Its one of those opportunities you don't want to pass up," Yohji snorted. Masato climbed into the passenger side.

"He's been…well, kind of weird. More emotional, and funny as hell. But once he starts to wake up from it he's a beast," Ken laughed, buckling his seatbelt.

"How has Knight been doing?" Omi asked. Yohji could feel his shoulders tensing up already.

"He's been a bit distraught, but we've been helping him through it. Its killing him not knowing about…well, you know. The whole father thing. Its not a position I'd wish on either one of you. One way or another one of you is going to be disappointed and it sucks. Yuushi really wants it to be his, and I can tell that you want it to be yours. The situation isn't fair to both of you right now."

"What about Aya? Its even worse for him. None of this is fair to him. And I can tell he feels like he's being blamed for it. He's bad at expressing himself, but the look on his face whenever the father is mentioned is…he thinks its his fault. If you can tell Knight to…not mention it every time he sees him that would be great. I'm not trying to be unfair, but Aya is under enough stress." And he did feel bad. He knew that if the positions were reversed that he'd want to cling to anything that might keep them together, but it wasn't fair to Aya to tug him between them, especially when he'd already had so many problems because of stress.

"Yuushi is my friend, and I can see how this is affecting him, but I've been telling him to drop it. It seems cruel, I know, and the look he gave me the first time I said it…well, it wasn't like him. He won't back off about this. He'll back off about trying to force Ran to love him, but he won't back off about the kid. S'just the way it is. Nothing to do but wait," Masato shrugged and opened the window so that he could light a cigarette.

That was the end of the conversation, Yohji could tell. He knew when he'd been dismissed, and as much as he'd like to grab Masato by the hair and yell at him, he knew it wasn't the man's fault.

"I don't know if this was a one time deal, but if it was, then it was awesome to work with you guys. If not, then I can save the sentimental shit for next time," he said with a snort, blowing the smoke out the window.

Yohji parked and opened the front door. He smiled at the sight of Aya holding the blanket around his shoulders, dragging it behind him as he all but ran to the door to see him.

"Hey there, Ran. Wow, you are right fucked up, aren't you, boy!" Masato laughed. He barely managed to dodge a smack to the face.

"Aya, something wrong?" Yohji wrapped his arms around him.

"Naru won't leave me alone! I even tried hiding! He found me!" Aya pouted.

"What have you been doing while I was gone?" Yohji asked.

"Naru, its time to clear out and give Ran his space," Masato shouted through the house.

"Coming!" Naru shouted back, running toward the door with Knight in tow.

"Thank you," Aya whispered to Masato quiet enough that Naru wouldn't hear. Yohji was glad he had the decency to not hurt the boy's feelings for once.

Yohji waited for them to leave before dragging Aya back to the couch.

"So, you okay?" Yohji kissed him on the lips, sitting down with him.

"They were bad to me! Yuushi let Naru give me a sponge bath! It was aweful! I was sweaty, and Yuushi said he couldn't see me naked, so he left me with Naru! Its beyond cruel! He even started singing some stupid song about bath time!" Yohji laughed, he could well picture Naru singing at the top of his lungs in the bathroom.

"And you survived? Wow, I haven't given you enough credit!"

"It was him who almost didn't survive. I hid under the bed and he thought it was a prank, so he came under with me! Yuushi was just laughing. Bastard didn't rescue me!"

"I'm surprised you didn't punch Naru," Ken snickered.

"I did! And he still wouldn't leave me alone! Who does that? If someone punched me I think I would get the hint!"

"No, you would just punch them back," Yohji pointed out.

"And then I would take the hint! Its not rocket science. You weren't here, so I couldn't have sex to get any of the frustration out of my system. And…but you know, I did have some peanuts, so that was good. I think we're running out of the shelled ones. I put it on the grocery list."

"Wow, you're bouncing off the walls, Aya. Usually you get all sedated, but its like you're on speed!" Yohji teased.

"Because I couldn't have sex! Aren't you listening to a word I've said?" Yohji just laughed and kissed him again.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews!


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Aya's sleep was woken up to a banging at the door. He vacated his spot on the couch and went to the door, swinging it open.

Pawn stood there grinning from ear to ear.

"Guess what day it is! it's the three month anniversary of you baby's concep…" Aya covered Pawn's mouth.

"No yelling. I have a headache." _Or I'm going to get one if he doesn't shut up!_

Only when Pawn nodded did Aya release him.

"And you can't stay too long, either. I need my sleep," Aya griped, stepping aside to let him in. It was hard to believe he'd been so desperate to get away from the boy, and embarrassing to know he'd hidden under the bed in an attempt.

"Your eyes look normal again," Pawn pointed out, setting a box of chocolates on the table. _Finally, someone listens and doesn't buy a florist flowers! Its about damned time!_

"I wanted to bring you flowers, but Yuushi said that was a bad idea. He said you get your fill of flowers as it is." _Of course he did. Always the thoughtful one even when I wish he wouldn't be._ He wished there were something about Knight that warranted him dreading seeing the man, and not just the anxiety from the child. At least then he could blame Knight and tell him to fuck off!

"Hey, Naru," Omi said cheerfully as he came into the room.

"Aya, you look good today," Omi said, smiling at him. And it wasn't one of the tight smiles that Omi had been sporting lately, it was a genuine smile.

"Not in pain," Aya was glad to finally have a relief that didn't involve getting loopy. He paused when he noticed that Omi was in mission gear. He looked Naru over, sure enough, there was a mission.

"You didn't tell me!" Aya snapped, storming out of the room. He would've liked to make dinner before they left so that they wouldn't be hungry on the job! It pissed him off that they hadn't told him.

"You okay, Aya?" Yohji asked, coming into the room. Aya was about ready to flip when he saw Yohji in his mission clothes, too.

"You didn't tell me!" Aya hissed. "Be careful, don't get killed," he added at the end. If anything did happen he didn't want to think that screaming was the last thing he'd done.

"It wasn't on purpose, Aya." Aya wrapped his arms around Yohji's waist for a quick squeeze before pulling away and heading upstairs.

"Do you want me to call Yuushi over?" Yohji asked. Aya paused. Yohji was trying to be considerate.

"I'm fine. I think I could use some alone time, anyway," Aya smiled at him, before heading upstairs. He had something he wanted to do, anyway.

He looked in the mirror as he entered his own bedroom. His stomach was definitely more than just a bump now.

"If you get any bigger I'm going to fall over," Aya snorted, running a hand over his belly where he could feel the baby moving around.

He opened his closet and looked at his mission coats. He looked at one that he hardly ever wore anymore. A green one that he had only worn on a few missions, then had left alone once he'd gotten some others. The green one had never quite fit him right, it wasn't as easy to move around in as the others because it was too big.

He smiled and pulled it out of the closet and threw it on the bed. There was no way the thing would fit right now, but he'd be damned if that got in his way!

He took it apart, piece by piece, ripping all the stitches out and pulled out all the seams. The thing had been sewn and re-sewn so many times to try to make it fit, but it never had.

He then started the painstaking process of stitching it back together. He knew they wouldn't let him come on missions, but he did want to leave the house, and he wanted a nice coat to wear that might actually close in the front. It was too cold outside to go without altogether.

He pulled the coat on overtop of his jeans and turtleneck. There. Now he didn't look quite so odd! I mean he looked like he'd packed on some pounds in the middle, but he didn't look quite as much like a pregnant man.

Proud of himself, Aya grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out. The closest he'd come to outside in a while was opening the door. The others were worried about what might happen if other people found out he was pregnant. Or even if they didn't find out, someone walking by might bump into him and hurt him. He'd complied for the longest time just to keep them off his back. But he'd be damned if he stayed inside any longer! They wouldn't be locking him up inside if he were a pregnant woman! He felt like he was being locked up like some sort of freak!

He wasn't going to go far. He went to his favourite diner.

"Haven't seen you around here in a long time, Ran, how are you?" A young waitress asked.

"Same old." She was an old friend of Aya-Chan's. He didn't mind her because she didn't act strange around him, and she still visited his sister in the hospital. That meant a lot to him. So he used to come here all the time just to see her. It was like, if he was near her he felt like he was near Aya-Chan. He liked the company, and she didn't mind doing most of the talking.

"So, how are things with you and that guy?" she asked, grinning as she placed a green tea in front of him.

"Yuushi? We're just friends again. I met someone else. Yuushi is a bit upset, but I can't really do anything about that. Its not my business."

"So, who's this new guy? Is he cute?" Aya paused to think about that. Yohji was beautiful, but cute? He didn't know how to answer that.

"I mean is he hot!" She laughed, shaking her head at him.

"Oh, um, yeah." Aya knew he was blushing.

"You're going to have to show me some pictures next time you come in. And, Ran, I hate to be a bitch, but how did you end up gaining weight with how much exercise you get?"

"Blame it on him!"

"Well, it doesn't really matter, it looks cute on you regardless. I was just shocked, that's all."

"Well now, this certainly is a treat!" Aya's back stiffened at the voice behind him. I should've stayed home!

He didn't get up, hoping that his stomach would go unnoticed if he stayed sitting down.

"Oh, is this him?" She chirped, moving aside as Shuldig sat down.

"This is most definitely not him. He's just leaving!" Aya hissed, kicking him under the table.

"Now now, I'm not here to hurt you. I was just curious as to why Balinese was worried about getting home to you. So I decided to come myself, and found you walking around looking absolutely adorable in an oversized coat that doesn't much cover up your…condition."

Aya wasn't going to bother answering, not when Shuldig was reading his mind anyway. He pictured slamming Shuldig's head on the table and scooping out his eyes with his spoon.

"Well now, that was…interesting. I just wanted to stop in to let you know that I know what's going on." Aya glared at him, keeping eye contact_. I can even show you who the father is, if you do me a favour!_

Aya ignored him. He would find out who the father was soon anyway, he didn't need Shuldig's help!

"It has been fun seeing you, Ran. You look very cute!" Shuldig taunted, getting up and leaving.

Aya looked down at his tea, wondering if he should tell Yohji about this or not. If he told him it would look like he couldn't take care of himself. It was probably better to say nothing and just head home.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis, Blackorcid, and !2AN for your reviews.

and yeah, we only know about the Crashers from what we've read from other fanfics, and some of it we just made up, too,

to fit our purposes.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Yohji wished the drive home was faster. He wanted to make sure Aya was okay. He couldn't just call to check, Aya always let the machine get it to see who it was before answering. And he sure as hell wasn't going to pick up knowing that Yohji would just be calling to ask him the question that he had come to hate so much.

A car horn sounded to his side. He turned just in time to see long orange hair. He didn't have to double check to see who that was!

Yohji grabbed his cell and dialled home anyway.

"Aya, pick up the goddamned phone! I just saw Schuldig in the area! Pick up the fucking phone!" Yohji shouted. The answering machine clicked off. Goddamned stubborn asshole, you'd better be okay and just sleeping or something!

Yohji hung up. He was pissed now. Aya was either being an ass or he was in trouble. Yohji took his chances with the police and floored it back to the flower shop.

"Are you insane!" Ken shouted. Yohji understood why, the shit would hit the fan if the cops pulled them over when some of them had blood on them and weapons that weren't easily hidden.

Yohji slammed the car into the driveway and ran to the door, unlocking it and throwing it open.

"Aya?" Yohji shouted through the house. No answer.

"Aya, what are you doing outside!" Ken shouted. Yohji turned in time to see Aya walk in the door, looking adorable in the altered green coat.

Yohji caught Aya as the redhead tried to walk by without a word.

"I think you really should explain yourself, Aya, because it looks to me like you're being a selfish bastard!" Yohji couldn't believe Aya would just wander out in the middle of the night! Hell, Aya was supposed to stay inside until this was done. They had to keep a low profile as it was without one of their members being broadcasted through the city as a pregnant man. Yohji could just imagine the tabloid getting their hands on Aya!

"I was hungry and bored." Aya growled, pulling away from him and walking back and forth across the kitchen floor, looking troubled. Yohji knew he wasn't troubled because he was getting in shit, something else was bothering him.

"I saw Schuldig in the area and was terrified he'd hurt you, then I called and no one picked up! Do you know what would've happened if that freak got his hands on you?"

"I can take care of myself," Aya growled at him, glaring.

"But are you responsible enough to take care of yourself when you're pregnant? Yeah, you're a hell of a fighter, but all it would've taken was one good hit in the stomach, or for him to get into your head and we might not have a child anymore!" Yohji shouted back.

"So that's what I am to you now? A vessel? Fuck you, I'm not a pet!" Aya barked, shoving past him and making his way upstairs. "Who says you're the father anyway!" Aya screamed followed by the slamming of his door.

That hurt. He knew he'd wounded Aya's pride. And he also knew that Aya was getting cabin fever no matter how much he tried to hide it.

"Goddamnit! If he wanted to go outside he should've talked to me about it!" Yohji felt like he was on the brink of tears.

"Why? You would've just said no anyway. It was bound to happen. I actually expected it to happen a long time ago," Ken pointed out, grabbing a can of pop out of the fridge.

"You're not helping, Ken!" Omi grabbed him by the arm and yanked him out of the room. Yohji was glad. He needed a moment to think before going up after Aya. If he didn't wait he was going to beat the shit out of him.

Yohji took a deep breath, wishing he could find some of that calm he was so well known for. It made him pause. When was the last time he had been able to brush off any of Aya's angry comments? When was the last time he hadn't hidden Aya behind him like…Shit! No wonder Aya was even more pissed off than usual!

Yohji made his way up the stairs, preparing to fight with the redhead. Aya wasn't about to go easy on him even if it was just a verbal battle. Aya was going to flip.

Yohji stood outside Aya's door. He winced when he heard something smash. This is going to be fun! Yohji knocked, and immediately heard everything go dead silent. Aya was obviously deciding whether or not to answer it.

"Aya, can I come in?" Yohji waited. When there was no reply he opened the door and walked in.

"Aya, I wasn't…I love you. You have to know that by now. And I want you to be safe, and I want our child to be safe. I need you both. Do you understand that?" Aya didn't say anything, just stood there glaring at him.

"I'm sorry. I know things haven't been fair for you lately. But there isn't anything we can do about that! Our first priority is your safety. Until you can fight again you need to…"

Aya launched at him suddenly, punching him hard in the jaw. Yohji hit the ground with a thud.

"What the fuck was that for?" Yohji demanded as he dazedly climbed back to his feet.

"I can _fight_ just fine!" Aya snapped.

"You had better not have hit me just to prove that, Aya!" Yohji would _not_ put up with this shit! He'd done everything he could to try to make Aya comfortable!

Aya said nothing, just continued to glare, not denying it.

"Do I need to tie you to the bed to make you stay inside? Because I'll do it if I have to!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Aya snarled. Yohji stalked around him, pulling the wire from his watch just enough to warn Aya to back down.

"We both know that I will do what I have to. I'm not about to let your selfishness…"

"Selfishness? I've stayed inside for months just because you asked me to! I haven't even gotten a real breath of fresh air when you come in the door because you close it behind you right away. I have no time to myself, I always have someone staring at me!"

"And look what happens the one time we do leave you by yourself! Don't worry, you won't be alone in the house ever from now on!" And he meant it, too! He didn't care if he had to call Knight to Aya-sit! Hell, he'd even call Manx and owe her a huge favour! Not that he really thought she would. There was no way she would put up with Aya's shit. Knight was the only one he could really trust to watch Aya while he was on missions with the rest of the team. As much as he hated the idea, he might have to rely on him.

"I know this isn't your fault, Aya. This…you didn't ask for this, but its here and you'd better fucking deal with it!"

"Get out!" Aya warned, coming toward him.

"No! You're going to listen to me. I know you're a reclusive bastard, so time in the house shouldn't bother you even if it is for months! What really pisses you off is that you can't go on missions!"

"That is not what this is about!" Aya struck again. This time Yohji grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. He would've pushed Aya to his knees, but didn't want to hurt his stomach.

"Then tell me what its about!"

"You wouldn't listen even if I told you."

"Try me!" He needed to understand what was going on!

"No," Aya growled, and then went silent but for his breaths. Yohji waited for a few minutes, hoping Aya would give in, but the redhead wouldn't make a sound. And if he tightened Aya's arm any tighter behind his back he might hurt him.

"Aya, when this baby is born, all bets are off. You can bet your ass that if you try to hit me then that I'll hit you right back! I won't put up with this shit from you!"

"I'm tired, leave. I want to sleep."

"Come back to my room. The bed is more…"

"I'm tired, leave. I want to sleep," Aya just repeated, his voice completely devoid of emotion.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis, Blackorcid, and Evalita for your reviews :)


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Aya woke to a hand moving through his hair.

"Go'way, I'm trying to sleep," he said grumpily. He didn't want Yohji to bother him right now, especially not after the fight they'd had.

"Now now, is that any way to talk to a friend?"

Aya shot up, coming face to face with Schuldig.

"You are absolutely adorable, Ran. Nothing like the cold killer that I normally face. Of course I know better than to think you're really cold on the inside. I've seen enough into your dreams to know the difference." Aya wanted to punch him, but stayed where he was.

"Have you thought about my offer?" Aya glared at him, but the answer in his head was a resounding 'yes'.

"What do you want in return?" There were always strings, even if Schuldig wanted a favour, there would still be something else.

"I want the data on what they did to you!"

"Why?" Was the man planning on experimenting on people or something?

"Never you mind. That's personal."

"Oh my God! You want one too!" Aya laughed, this was too funny even for him. The image of Schuldig walking around with a baby belly and Crawford following him around at his beck and call!

"That's none of your business! Now, there is only one way I'll tell you, and that is if you lie to the father. You have to pretend that the other man is the father until the DNA test tells you otherwise!"

"Why the hell would you want me to do that?" Aya didn't like that one bit! "And how can you tell what sex the child is?"

"First question? because your pain tastes wonderful. Second question? Because there is a psychic link between the child and both parents. I can follow that thread back to the source. Its not rocket science."

"And by the way, Ran, you do know that it isn't you that he wants. He wasn't even interested in you as more than a convenient fuck until you got pregnant. Don't kid yourself. it's the other one, the loyal dog, that loves you. Your team doesn't see you as their leader anymore. They see you as a weakness, and if it weren't for Kudou they would kill you for being inconvenient. Hell, even Kudou would kill you if he thought he could do it and have the child survive. Don't think for a second that he hasn't thought about it! He is in the process of figuring out a way! You're just a lame dog with rabies, and if you don't behave your team is going to come crashing down on you. Best way to deal with you is to drug you up and keep you indoors, right? That way the neighbours won't see the freakshow and Kudou can reap the benefits of your libido and the kids can laugh at you. Even Kritiker, who did this to you in the first place, sees you now as nothing but a vessel for the child. No one will ever take you seriously again. You might as well resign yourself to the fact that you're worthless to them. When you have the child Kudou is going to kill you and raise it with some woman. I've seen into his mind. You know what I say is the truth!"

"Get out!" Aya hissed. He already knew most of that! He didn't need it rubbed in his face! He could feel the tears straining at his eyes. Of course Yohji didn't love him! Yohji hadn't shown him anything until he'd seen him with Knight, and even then it was just lust. And when he'd found out he was pregnant Yohji had avoided him, but then had decided he'd wanted it.

It was a convenience for Yohji. No attachments. In their line of field it would be hardly acknowledged by anyone other than the team themselves if one of them died. And if it was the team that killed him he would just vanish. They would do it while he was weak. Revenge for all the years that he barked orders at them.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Have a wonderful sleep," Schuldig taunted before leaving through the window_. Like I'm going to get any sleep now?_

Aya blushed when he realized he was naked! Schuldig had gotten a show! Not that he thought it had been a particularly wonderful show, with his belly so large. He frowned and pulled on a black robe, knotting it carefully in the front.

He wandered down to the kitchen. His stomach was gurgling. How he could eat when he was so frustrated he had no idea.

He knew one thing. When he got the chance he was leaving. To hell with this! He wasn't going to die! He would take the few things he needed and leave.

"Aya, I'm sorry," Yohji's voice sounded from behind him.

"If you were sorry then things would change. But you're still going to cage me here, so I think you and I are finished this conversation," Aya grabbed a jar of olives and a jar of pickles and used a fork to help dump some onto a plate.

"I don't want to fight with you, Aya. But you're right. I need to keep you here. I'm not doing it to hurt you. I'm not sorry I'm doing it, I'm sorry because I know it hurts you."

"You and I are finished, Yohji. I won't be a convenient fuck for you anymore. Don't worry, I don't expect my jailor to buy me things. I'll call a delivery service if I need anything," Aya wasn't about to go and sit at the table where Yohji was, so instead he ate where he was.

"Aya, I love you!"

"Don't say that to me!" Aya screamed. He could take anything. But he couldn't take Yohji using those words to hurt him.

"Aya, what do I have to do…"

"I think you've done enough, don't you? I see the way you look at me! All three of you! I'm not going to sit around and let you…"

"Let us what!" Yohji demanded, getting up and coming toward him, looking pissed and worried.

Aya rolled his eyes. He'd said too much already. If Yohji really didn't know that he'd figured it out it was to his advantage. It meant it bought him another day to make his escape.

Aya quickly washed his dishes and went to leave, only to have Yohji grab his arm and jerk him back. Aya winced as his back hit the counter.

"Shit, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Is the baby…" Aya shoved Yohji back when the man moved to touch his stomach.

"Don't _ever _touch me!" Aya hissed. And shamefully, he could feel the tears slipping down his cheeks.

What was even more shameful was that when Yohji pulled him into his arms he broke down and sobbed on the man's shoulder. Aya-Chan, am I that hopeless? Am I that messed up that I would take comfort in his arms when I know he means to kill me?

"Aya, I don't know what's going on in your mind, but I love you. I'll stay by your side and protect both you and the baby. I love you whether you want to hear it or not!" Yohji's hands were so warm, one rubbing circles on his back while the other one just held him.

Aya's limbs were heavy. Something was wrong with him. He hadn't felt any pinpricks, so Yohji hadn't given him a shot of anything, and he doubted Yohji would drug the whole jar of pickles.

His body was suddenly laced with pain. He opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. The only relief he got was when he passed out in Yohji's oblivious arms.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis for your review.

I know I'm a bitch for making things bad between them again, but hey, couldn't have

a good story without conflict, right? :)

Happy St. Patty's day!


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Yohji awkwardly picked Aya up and carried him to his bed. He didn't care what Aya said, he was putting Aya asleep in his bed. It was more comfortable.

He didn't know where all this anger came from in Aya. The man had been glowing just the other day, and now he was pissed and paranoid.

He covered Aya in the thick quilts and kissed his forehead. Aya was shivering. He was going to need a shot soon whether he liked it or not. He was going to have to break Aya's fragile trust and inject him in his sleep.

Yohji walked over to his dresser and grabbed one of the needles, puncturing the little container that was full of the drug that he needed.

He snuck up on the bed and drew the blankets back off of him. He had to be careful as he carefully pulled his robe open and bared the flesh of his hip.

Yohji's eyes widened as Aya's eyes slid open. He jabbed the needle in as quickly as possible without jamming it in too deep.

Aya said nothing, just stared off with eyes that looked so distant they were almost dead.

"I'm sorry, Aya, but your body temperature was getting way out of hand again." Still no response.

"Aya, can you look at me?" Yohji was getting worried. Aya wasn't acting like he heard anything, like he didn't even know he was there!

It wasn't the same as when he simply ignored him. This was dangerous! Something wasn't right!

Aya's eyes slid closed again.

"Back to the hospital, Aya," Yohji said very quietly and proceeded to lift him up off the bed again. Aya wasn't huge. His belly was literally just big enough for the child. But it was awkward to carry him with that extra weight in the middle.

That bulge always made his eyes teary and his heart warm. Reminding him that this was really happening. There was a little person in there that just might be his. A person that would give him a connection with Aya that no one could contest.

"I'm going to take you to the doctor to find out what's wrong. I'm not going to let you slip away from me, even if it is just your mind." And he meant it, too. He'd seen Aya's sister in that hospital bed and had always wondered how Aya could deal with someone he loved being that out of reach.

He wouldn't let that happen to Aya. He would keep him awake to the world even if he had to smack him awake every time he blinked his eyes.

"I know you think that I want to hurt you. I know that for some reason you think awful things about me and the rest of the team. I don't know how to prove to you that I will never hurt you. But I swear to you that I won't let your mind break. I'll keep you safe," he wondered how often he'd promised to keep Aya safe. He seemed to be able to keep him physically safe, but mentally, he was losing him.

At the sight of Yohji carrying Aya wrapped in a blanket the boys followed him out to the car.

"What's wrong with him?" Ken asked, looking worried.

"Is the baby on his organs again?" Even though he had his seatbelt on, Omi was leaning as far forward as he could, trying to get a look at Aya as Yohji belted him into the passenger seat. Omi caught the cell phone as he tossed it back to him and called the hospital.

"No, its his mind. Something's wrong with his mind!" He knew that he probably sounded hysterical, but…how could he keep his calm when Aya lay slumped forward in the seat looking at nothing!

"What did you do? You attack him or something?" Ken asked, trying to get a good look at Aya for any bruising.

"No, he just flipped out after the mission, remember? And after we had a fight he fell asleep in my arms. I gave him his needle without his permission and he didn't even say anything!"

"Shit! Did you make sure he's alive?" Ken asked, checking the pulse on Aya's neck.

"Do you really think I'm that much of a moron that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference? He was breathing just fine!" Well, he was breathing evenly, anyway, like someone who was still asleep. But Aya wasn't sleeping with his eyes open or his eyes would've been open all along. No, Aya's eyes had opened while he was administering the needle.

"His pulse is pretty slow, but not like its dangerous," Ken said, looking put out that he'd just gotten in shit.

Yohji parked in front of the hospital and ran Aya inside. This was getting to be a habit. He didn't like it one bit. He felt like he was losing Aya over and over!

"I would say its nice to see you again, Mr. Kudou, but under the circumstances…" Dr. Yuri said, helping him get Aya carefully onto the bed.

"Its his mind! Something's wrong with his mind!" Yohji made sure the blanket was still bundled tight around Aya to keep him warm.

The doctor snapped in front of Aya's eyes. No response.

"Suffice to say, this isn't normal. This did not happen with any of the other subjects. The only thing that could cause this is extreme stress on the body and mind, or a disturbance in the bond between him and the child. I couldn't imagine him visiting any of our psychics without us knowing. We do keep close tabs on them."

"Wait! I saw one of the psychics from the Schwarz team yesterday night! Right after the mission he drove by us and honked the horn. Could Schuldig have done this to Aya?"

"Mr. Fujimiya's mind is not as strong as it was, not in this condition. In order to forge the psychic bond we had to change his brain waves a bit. It more than likely dropped his defences against psychic attack in order to let the child in. This could very well be the cause. I would like to keep him for the next few days to run some tests. If we can fix the bond we should be able to get him back to normal. And, while he's here, we can properly treat him for his condition, make sure his body has what it needs and try to make things easier on him."

"Just don't screw with him too much. You've done enough damage!" He hated the idea of leaving Aya with them after all they'd done!

"We have given you a miracle! You have to accept the fact that some of the things needed to make this miracle possible involve taking chances. Now, if you would please leave so that I can try to fix the problem that would be appreciated. You cannot stay here with him."

"I can't just leave him alone in here for a few days! He already thinks I'm betraying him! I have to be there for him!" It was frustrating to be dismissed like that, with Aya in the arms of the doctors that may or may not be able to help him.

"You can visit him tomorrow."

Yohji hated it, but he knew there wasn't anything he could do. He just prayed that the next time he saw Aya he wasn't like his sister.

{ Schuldig}

Schuldig smiled as he looked down at Aya, laying comatose on the bed. He traced his finger down the length of his cheek.

If he didn't have Brad waiting for him he would take Aya with him right now and keep him. He'd always had a secret obsession with the redhead.

"I'm sorry I had to do this to you, Ran, but it was the only way to get you into the hospital to get the data. I'll release you when the time is right. When you'll be able to get the data without causing any disturbance." he couldn't do it himself.

He'd tried reading the doctor's thoughts, but the dynamics of everything didn't make any sense to him, so he couldn't retain any of the information.

Brad would know what to do with the information. So he had to have it in paper or on a disk. And there was no way he'd be able to spend enough time doing that without being caught. He could hold off a few people, but the Kritiker doctors were well trained and if there were enough of them, they could catch him.

He kissed Aya lightly on the lips, tracing his tongue across Aya's bottom lip.

"Sometimes I wonder if I would really be able to keep you. I wonder what Brad would say if I asked him if he would like to adopt a stray kitten," he chuckled. Brad would kill Aya.

It didn't matter. As much as he wanted Aya, he wanted Crawford more. Aya was an obsession, Brad was love.

Speaking of which, he had to remember to buy a new pair of handcuffs. He'd busted the last pair when he couldn't get them off. The key had broken in them. He'd had to, embarrassingly enough, call Nagi in to get them off him.

"I wonder what colour of fur we should go with this time? It might very well be the colour that we'll conceive our own baby under," he snorted, climbing out the window the way he'd come in.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews. :)

So, two points of view this time. I had to explain what was going on, so it didn't look like Aya was having more of a meltdown than he already was.

Didn't want to make him look catatonic just out of pure weakness or something like that.

Poor Yohji is so out of the loop.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Aya gasped as his mind was released. He looked up at Schuldig who was grinning at him.

"Welcome back to the living." He jerked away when Schuldig's fingers touched his lips.

"Why so standoffish?" Aya awkwardly climbed out of the bed. He looked down at the hospital Pjs. He was just glad it wasn't the backless robe.

"Here, put this on," Schuldig tossed a lab coat to him. And just like that Schuldig was gone.

It was fine. Aya already had the instructions in his head. It was after hours, so there weren't as many doctors around. He treated it like a mission and stayed in the shadows. He could well understand why this was something Schuldig couldn't do himself. If he got caught it wouldn't be a big thing, and the security cameras _would_ catch him definitely. But if Schuldig were caught he would be killed.

Aya slid into one of the offices and locked the door behind himself. He sat down at the computer and proceeded to hack into the system. He'd learned from Omi over the years, and hardly anything could keep him out.

He skimmed through the files, looking for a name that looked familiar. It was hard, though, when he didn't know much about genetics.

He typed his own name into the search engine. It was his best bet at finding anything. He skipped over the part that talked about his past and his qualifications. There was no way he was going to offer that information to Schuldig. It was bad enough that the man could read his mind!

He paused when he reached a part about genetic altering. This had to be it. He sent it to the printer.

The sound of the door handle jiggling made him pause. He wasn't sure what he should do at this point. He grabbed a letter opener and slid it into the pocket of the lab coat in case he might need it.

He opened the window and dropped the sheets out onto the ground, hoping that the wind wouldn't blow them away. Once he was finished he walked to the door and opened it.

"Mr. Fujimiya, what are you doing here?" One of the doctors asked, looking spooked.

"Research, what does it look like!" Aya snapped.

"This is a restricted area. You are not permitted to be back here. I think I should take you back to your bed."

"I was hoping to get an understanding of what you did to me. I thought it might make it easier to deal with." He hoped the doctor would buy it. Really, he didn't care how it was done to him, just that he wouldn't lose the child.

The doctor reached for him. Aya hit him as hard as he could and fled into the hallway. There was no way he was going to let them confine him to a hospital bed!

He opened the nearest window, and gasped with surprise as strong arms pulled him out and set him down on the ground.

He pushed away from Schuldig. He didn't want the crazy bastard to hold him!

"Thank you for the information," Schuldig chuckled, holding up the small stack of papers.

Aya followed him to the car, climbing in. It was his only chance of escaping the hospital. He hated it, but he went along with it.

"Your child is female, and the father is Yuushi Honjou. Remember our deal, though, you have to pretend that Kudou is the father."

"I already agreed to it. What I don't get is why you want me to do that?"

"Because your pain tastes wonderful." Aya shuddered at that.

"And if you don't comply I will break the psychic link between the father and the child, so that the father won't want anything to do with her." Schuldig warned. Aya nodded.

He'd expected a threat to kill the child.

He climbed out of the car and walked to the front door. He wasn't going to thank Schuldig for the ride, not when the man was responsible for all of this to begin with.

He didn't bother trying the front door. It would be locked and there was no way he had a key on him.

He climbed the fire escape to his bedroom and climbed in the window. He wondered why Knight bothered with the rickety fire escape. It was a pain in the ass. But then he supposed being pregnant had something to do with it.

The first thing he did was strip out of the ugly hospital gown and put on some black drawstring pj pants and an oversized black t-shirt.

He brushed his hair, which was a total mess, and then looked in the mirror to make sure he didn't look like a total wreck.

"What do you mean he left!" Yohji's angry voice rang up the stairs. "He was catatonic for Chrissakes!"

Aya walked down the stairs and gave a small wave to Yohji when the man turned to look at him.

"Yeah, he's here." Yohji griped, hanging up the phone. Yohji practically ran at him and hugged him tight. Aya sank into his arms. He didn't know what to think anymore, so he was going to try to take things one at a time, but keep his guard up regardless.

"How did you wake up, Aya? I thought you were gone for sure!" Aya could feel the wetness against his shoulder. Yohji was crying.

"I…Schuldig. He needed a favour and it involved me being catatonic for a while. I just…"

"And you went along with it? How could you do something like that?" Yohji pulled away to look him in the eye. Yohji looked distraught.

"I needed to know who the father was. I needed to know…and all he wanted in return was the data on what was done to me."

"Why would he…" Yohji's eyes widened suddenly as he realized what Aya was saying. He burst out laughing.

"Oh, that's too much! I could just picture Schuldig with a little bastard brat screaming and trying to psychically persuade him to give him cookies!" Yohji was laughing so hard that Aya had to wait for him to calm down before speaking again.

"I'll bet they thought something similar of me when they found out. Perhaps they pictured a child threatening me with a sword," Aya had to admit that visual was pretty damned cute.

Yohji sobered up suddenly. "Who is the father, Aya?" Yohji's eyes were so hopeful. Aya felt awful, like he was breaking the fragile trust between them as he pointed at Yohji.

Yohji hugged him again, this time lifting him right up off the ground.

"Stomach!" Aya screamed when his belly was compressed in Yohji's arms.

"Sorry!" Yohji set him down, blushing at his own mistake. Yohji didn't let him pull away, though, he kissed him passionately.

Aya was screaming inside, crying, as he kissed back. He wished the child was Yohji's.

{Schuldig}

"You've taken cruelty to a whole other level," Crawford snorted, looking over the data.

"I can't believe that he thought I would be honest with him. So now he's holding the real father in his arms feeling like he's betraying him by lying to him! it's a beautiful flavour! I'm going to enjoy this for the next few months!" Schuldig laughed.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis for your review! :)

Poor Aya, I'm such a bitch!


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Aya, I know you're going to be pissed at the question, but are you alright?" Yohji leaned in and pressed a kiss to Aya's lips.

"I'll be fine if you mean what you said," a small smile was playing on Aya's lips. Yohji nodded. He didn't like the idea, but he knew that if he didn't take Aya out that the man just sneak out again.

So here Aya was, looking adorable in his altered green coat, wearing his high cut black leather boots and a turtleneck.

Yohji didn't like that he was wearing those boots. The chunky heels were three inches high. He was worried that Aya would fall.

"If you look at me like that again I'm going to hit you," Aya warned. Yohji smiled. Aya had read his face easily, noticing his unease about the boots.

"Where did you want to go, Aya?"

"There's a little café nearby, I have a friend that works there. You'll like her, she's really nice." Aya getting along with a female? That was a new one on him. The man always seemed annoyed by women, but then again, he'd only seen Aya around Manx and the girls at the flower shop.

"She is a friend of my sister's. She's the only link I have to the past now. Well, the only one that can talk back to me." Aya was smiling. _This girl must really be something!_

Yohji hoped the girl wasn't his type. The last thing he wanted was for Aya to get pissed at him for ogling her.

Aya insisted on walking to the café. Yohji wanted to drive him there, to get as little attention as possible, but he didn't dare say it out loud. Aya would freak!

The café Aya took him to was a cute little place called the Sugar Cup. Aya dragged him up to the counter where a young Japanese girl with dyed blonde and red hair was filling the displays.

"Eri, this is Yohji," Aya said with a small blush on his cheeks.

"So this is the man that stole Ran's heart. You'd better be good to him," she warned. He was glad that she wasn't his type. In a few years she would be, but right now she was too young.

"Hey there, can I get a coffee with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on top?" Yohji asked. It had been a while since he'd had café coffee. He didn't even visit the little place that he and Asuka used to go to.

"Absolutely!" She chirped, going to work at it.

"Hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles," Aya said with a tiny smile. Yohji could guess that Aya had decided on that based on what he was having.

He chuckled when he saw Aya's eyes staring at the double chocolate chunk cookies on the shelf.

"Could you also grab us six of the cookies over there?" Yohji fished out his wallet.

"Sure can." Yohji slapped enough money on the counter to not only pay for everything, but to give her a huge tip.

If she was someone that Aya cared about then Yohji cared, too. He didn't see anyone other than Aya's sister that could make the man look so relaxed, it was a glimpse into who Aya used to be. If he didn't know him he would think Aya was a shy quiet boy, not the man he'd come to know.

"I was hoping you'd come by soon. I have something to tell you!" She said with excitement. Aya smiled at her.

"When I visited Aya-Chan I swear her hand twitched in mine!"

"When I visited her last I think I felt the same thing," Yohji could tell by looking at them both that they usually said things like this. They both seemed to have to think it just to keep themselves sane.

"That's wonderful! We should go and visit her today, what do you think?" Yohji smiled, kissing Aya's temple.

"Have you met Aya-Chan? She has an awesome sense of humour, you'll love her!" Yohji watched the girl's face fall after saying it, like she'd just remembered that she was in a coma.

"She does, doesn't she," Aya said with a sad smile as he took his hot chocolate and cookies.

"You could come with us," Yohji offered. He wanted Aya to know that he welcomed his only friend outside of Weiss.

"I'd love to, but I'm alone all night. Besides, I think you need to meet her alone. Ran needs someone that can hold his hand." Yohji could just hug her. She was so good for Aya. The best friend he could ever dream up for the man. It was strange. He wondered why he didn't feel all possessive like he did when Knight was around. Maybe it was because he knew Aya wouldn't go for a girl his sister's age.

It was still hard to think of Aya as Ran. He almost felt out of the loop to hear him called by that name.

"It just means that you accept who I am and you're not expecting me to be who I was," Aya said when he mentioned it to him as they sat down.

"But you still do have some of him in you, otherwise you wouldn't be able to look so gentle around her."

"We all cling to who we once were, even just a little bit. It can't be helped. But I'm not him anymore. Those who call me by that name aren't paying attention to the person I've become. I never used to be an angry person."

Yohji took Aya's hand in both of his own, smiling at him. It was nice to see Aya in an environment where he didn't have his guard up.

"What sort of person did you used to be?" He really wanted to know. He only knew the Aya he had worked with, the stubborn powerful man that had his back on missions. The pregnancy was an eye-opener. It was a blessing in more ways than one.

"I used to have some friends. Not many, but good friends. I used to spend most of my time with my sister. I had no use for things like television and video games, because I was always either with friends or Aya-Chan, or both. I was different in school, my grades were high. I was shy around girls, but not for the reason that most boys were. I was shy around them because they wouldn't leave me alone. Well, everyone but Eri, she never looked at me like that, but she'd been Aya-Chan's friend since we were kids, so we got to know each other differently."

"What sports did you like?"

"Running mostly, and I was part of the Kendo class."

"And your friends, if they were such good friends why weren't they there for you when…"

"Because I didn't want them to be. I ditched everyone when my world went to hell. I only stayed in contact with Eri because she visits Aya-Chan regularly, so we saw each other all the time. We always tell each other lies about Aya-Chan moving, that way we can both have hope, so we don't dwell on the fact that she's out of reach." Aya looked down suddenly, but Yohji caught sight of the tears brimming his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." He felt bad. Yeah, he wanted to know everything about Aya, but he hadn't meant to take a peaceful moment and cause him pain.

"No, I…I'm glad you asked. I feel like no one really knows me. You know who I am now, but part of me, albeit a small part, will always relive what happened."

"Yeah, I hear ya. I used to be a detective. Was in love, too, with my partner. It was nice, we felt like we were heroes or something, because every now and then we could make someone's life easier. Sometimes we managed to find a missing family member that was being hurt by someone, you know? But on one of our cases I got shot. I was terrified that they would get her too, so I told her to leave me behind. She swore she'd come back for me, but as she was running she got shot. I still see her sometimes."

Aya leaned awkwardly over the table and kissed him. It was the sweetest kiss he'd ever had. The emotions they were both feeling were so intense, so full of hurt and comfort in the same breath.

"I love you," Aya whispered against his lips. Yohji felt like he could die and go to heaven.

"Love you too, Aya," Yohji said his name quietly, no need to make the cute little waitress ask questions.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews.

I thought I'd throw in a nice fluffy chapter after the crap Shannon pulled with Schuldig. LOL!

What a very bad girl she is. But that's why I like her so much! ;P


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Aya was bored. He couldn't think of another way to pass the time while waiting for Yohji to come back with groceries, so he'd parked himself on a chair and was tossing darts at the dartboard in the kitchen with Omi.

"So, Aya, can I feel your tummy?" Omi asked with bright eyes.

"Not right now, there's no movement. Your throw," Aya motioned to the board. Omi threw his dart with barely a glance, nailing it.

Ken was keeping score in the notepad they hid in the bottom drawer with all of the rest of the darts.

Aya aimed and was just letting go of it when the door opened. Aya turned just as it flew out of his fingers, making it arc to the left, far away from the board.

"Goddamn it! Aya!" Ken shouted. Aya mumbled an apology at the thin line of blood trickling from Ken's ear.

Aya ran toward the door and snatched one of the bags out of Yohji's arms and started to sort it on the counter.

"I can put the groceries away, Aya," Yohji snorted. Aya rolled his eyes at him. There was no way in hell he would let Yohji put them away, the man was a disaster!

Omi was already fast at work cleaning the small amount of blood from Ken's ear with a cloth, and slapping a ridiculous looking colourful band aid on his ear.

"Hey, we're going to the pool after soccer, you guys want to come?" Ken asked. Aya just growled at him. Obviously he couldn't go. And if Ken made one more cannonball joke he was going to make sure the next dart hit him in the side of the head.

As if sensing the danger, Omi covered Ken's mouth with his hand and used his other hand to drag him out of the room by the arm.

"Wow, he should be lucky Omi's around to help him dodge a few bullets, or darts, I guess." Yohji snorted, taking everything out of bags and setting it on the counter.

Aya slapped his hand when he reached for something that went in the fridge.

"You can put away things that go in the cupboard if you feel you must! But things that go in the fridge can go bad if you can't see they're there."

"Aya, I think the food will eventually go bad whether you can see it or not," Yohji teased.

"I'm talking about you three. I will actually look for things in the fridge. But with you three its like 'if you can't see it right away you won't eat it'. So it will end up going rotten if its not practically shouting at you."

"We're not that bad!" Yohji griped.

"Oh, really? I well remember what this fridge looked like when I started here. It was disgusting! There was mould growing on things! And for some reason there were fast food containers left open, and had gone rancid, and yet none of you threw any of it away! And there are much better ways of making friends…"

"Than growing them. Yeah, I remember you said that. Then you insisted on throwing out the fridge and getting a new one." Yohji was grinning at him.

"I won't eat out of anything that's had mould and e-coli growing in it! Its disgusting and unsanitary." Aya emptied out the fridge and sorted everything by date, throwing anything out that was nearing its expiry date.

"Aya, that was still good for another few days!" Yohji whined.

"Which mean's its almost gone bad. Its not like you're going to dive in there and eat it right now, so its best to throw it out before it goes bad not wait until it does." _This is exactly why I like to do it myself! I shouldn't have to justify every step I'm taking!_

Aya organized the new food into the fridge, and then set the food they were keeping in front, that way they would eat the old stuff first.

"Control freak," Yohji laughed, kissing him as he walked by.

"You want to see control freak? Just wait until our daughter's born…" Aya trailed off. He turned so Yohji couldn't see his face fall. That's right. Their daughter, which wasn't really 'theirs' at all it was his and _Yuushi's_ little girl.

"Aya, you okay?" Yohji wrapped his arms lightly around him from behind and rested his chin on his shoulder.

"Yeah, just thinking." He felt guilty about enjoying the feel of Yohji's arms around him. He didn't deserve to feel happy when he was lying to Yohji's face, betraying his trust.

"Why don't you get some beauty sleep while I finish up here," Aya shrugged him off.

"Did I do something to make you mad at me?" Yohji looked dejected.

"No, I…I can't tell you anything. It was part of the deal I made with Schuldig. He's watching and making sure I don't slip up," he figured the best he could do was be honest about the part he hadn't promised not to be.

"So you made more deals with him? Aya! At what price! How could you risk everything just to find out who the father was? You would've known in a couple of months anyway!" Yohji shouted, looking seriously pissed off.

"It wasn't like I had much of a choice! He asked me to, and when I didn't give him the answer he wanted he made me comatose! He would've done whatever the hell he wanted whether I agreed or not!" Aya shouted back.

Aya was dizzy suddenly.

"_If you search for any more loopholes, I will count it as you going back on your promise!_"

Yohji shouted his name, and just barely managed to catch him before his head would've hit the counter. Yohji steadied him against the counter, practically holding him up.

"Shit! Better get you back to the…"

"It wasn't the child making me dizzy," Aya felt like his entire body was numb. It was going to take a minute before he could stand without Yohji's aid.

"I'll kill that son of a bitch!" Yohji hissed. Aya nodded. Yeah, they both would. But right now they had more to lose. If Aya got hurt on a mission hunting down Schuldig it would be different, because it would mean he wasn't pregnant any more, so he could have someone, more than likely Knight, babysit while he tracked him down. But right now he had that psychic barrier between himself and the child to worry about. If it was tampered with it could cause them both to die. At least once the pregnancy was over he would only have his own life to worry about on a mission!

Aya tried to not even voice it in thought, but he knew that as soon as the child was out of him he was going to track down Schuldig and kill him. And if Schuldig was pregnant when he found him…he liked to think he would kill him anyway, but right now, looking down at his own stomach, he wasn't so sure.

"Because you're going soft, _Abyssinian_!" Schuldig's mocked him, laughing in his head.

Aya wanted to counter it with a 'what does that say about you?' but he knew better. If he said it the psychopath would be on him within seconds.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews. :)


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Yohji smiled as he felt the baby kick against his ear.

"Not even born and she's already kicking the crap out of you," Aya snorted.

"Means she's going to be a soccer player!" Ken laughed as he prepared Aya's next needle.

Yohji was just glad Aya was in good spirits right now. He obviously was dealing with the fact that he wasn't nearly as mobile. Of course Yohji made sure to keep Aya company in the bedroom so the man wouldn't have to try to wrestle to his feet. It was only when Aya would remember that he really couldn't get up without help that he would freak out.

At moments like this he could make Aya forget for just a little while. Just three weeks ago Aya had still been wandering around the house from time to time. Now he couldn't really get up on his own. But he supposed that was because the child was growing so fast. Faster than the doctors had predicted. It also meant that Aya was in a lot of pain and they could barely keep him medicated enough to try to deal with him.

The doctor had told them that the child might even be ready to be born in a couple weeks instead of a couple months. Aya had looked relieved and nervous all at once. Yohji didn't blame him.

He was relieved as well, that Aya would be able to have the pains over with sooner, but also nervous that the child might be born with some deformities if it was already growing too big. Who was to say that everything would be in proportion?

"How are you feeling?"

"Like sitting here for the next two weeks sounds like a good time!" Aya snapped, but then blushed when he realized he'd been an ass again. Yohji didn't blame him. He'd be an ass too if he was in pain all the time.

Yohji took the needle from Ken and administered it to Aya's hip. They'd all decided that he was the best one to do it after the angry fits they'd had from Aya in the past.

Of course they still told him when they were giving him another one, only now he seemed relieved.

"Must be nice to sit at home all day stoned out of your mind," Yohji teased, leaning in to kiss him.

Aya turned his head angrily to the side. He forgot every now and then and still teased him about it. Aya hated it.

"Sorry, Aya, didn't mean anything by it," he wrapped his arms around Aya's shoulders and held him until he felt Aya's shoulders relaxed. Sometimes he just needed to be comforted that he really was loved, that Yohji didn't prefer him stoned.

Yohji did love Aya stoned, but he also loved Aya on a normal basis. He was taking his fill of a stoned Aya because he knew that it wouldn't last forever, that once the baby was born he wouldn't get to see him cute and pouting, ravenously hungry and with a libido through the roof.

No, once the baby was born Aya would be somewhat back to normal. He'd never be exactly as he was, babies changed people. But he knew for a fact that Aya was going to take missions as soon as he was healed, and that he was going to be…well, he didn't know what else. It was hard to tell what 'normal' really was for Aya.

It was funny, he'd thought Aya was one dimensional for the longest time, but now, after spending so much time with him, he could see that there were more sides to him than the regular person.

He loved that about Aya.

"What did you buy me?" Aya asked with dilated pupils fixed on him.

"Actually, I picked up the chocolate cream pie you'd moped about not getting last week. I actually found some that wasn't from a grocery store, so I bought a few of them."

"Then I guess we should go…" Aya's eyes narrowed when he realized, once again, that he couldn't get up out of the bed.

The doctor had warned them both that Aya's hips were too small to support the child. Women's hips grew when they were pregnant, Aya's didn't_. Thankfully!_

The image of Aya walking around with a woman's hips nearly made him laugh. He kept the humour out of his eyes, too. There was no way in hell Aya would tolerate laughter. He'd think Yohji was laughing at his predicament.

_Thank God its only for two weeks! If I had to deal with Aya like this for longer than that I would shoot myself! _

"Ken, go and get the pie, we're all eating up here!" Yohji shoved the boy toward the door.

"Omi, go with him and get the plates and forks," he pointed to the door.

"Aya, are you okay?" Yohji sat back down on the bed and took Aya's hands into his own, looking him in the eye.

"Would you be? If you were stuck in bed? Well, maybe you would, you spend so much damned time sleeping in the first place," Aya snorted at the last part.

"Even I have my limits, Aya," Yohji chuckled, glad to have Aya smiling again, even if it was short lived.

"You just have to bear with us for two more weeks, Aya, then, although I'll help you so you don't rip your stitches, you can walk around." Aya nodded, having gone back to pouting.

"Two weeks and then there will be no secrets. That was the deal," Aya said, his eyes looking like he was going to cry.

"Secrets…Oh! Schuldig! So once the baby's born you'll be free from your deal?" Aya nodded. Yohji could've done a backflip. He'd been so tired of seeing Aya so horribly sad. Even when they had good moments Aya always went back to that sad look.

"Once your stitches are healed you and I are going to find that son of a bitch and cut his head off!" Aya nodded.

"Hey, Aya, we're almost finished with the baby girl's room. Kept most of it the same, just changed the paint to pink and the few things that were definitely boy's," Omi chirped.

"You kept the train, though, right? I liked the train," Aya said. It was the first time Aya had said anything about it since the boys had said they would work on it a week ago.

"Oh, we're definitely keeping the train," Ken assured, handing Aya a piece of pie.

"Thanks, guys," Aya said with a sheepish smile. Yohji knew it wasn't just a thanks for the pie.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and ShonenAiSorcerer for your reviews.

Yeah, I know, I sped up the pregnancy, but only so that things wouldn't get repetitive.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Aya could feel the tension rolling off both Yohji and Knight as they all sat together in the semblance of getting along.

Aya wanted to be anywhere but here, and he couldn't even get up to get away.

Two men, both of whom he was betraying, were sitting there trying to make conversation, and trying to make it sound light when he could tell they were taking jabs at each other_. Do they think I'm a moron? I'd have to be blind to not see the way those two are acting! _

He didn't want to be the one to turn it into a battle, though. Hopefully they would both tire of this little game really quickly.

"So, Yohji, its good to see you have Ran in good spirits," Knight snorted at Aya's glare.

"I think he's just enjoying the company right now. So, Yuushi, haven't seen you around lately? What's been keeping you?" Yohji asked, still smiling like they were old friends.

"Work, of course. I don't know where you get the time to take extra naps and the like. I wish I had that much free time."

Aya tried not to chuckle at the twinge in Yohji's left eye. _That was definitely score one for Knight!_

Aya could see Omi and Ken inching for the door.

"Could you two go and get some cookies from the bakery across town?" Aya asked, winking at Ken to let him know that he wasn't completely oblivious to their plight.

"Sure, what kind?" Omi asked obliviously.

"Surprise me," Aya snorted. _Escape while you can! _He added mentally, wishing Omi could hear his thoughts.

"I was thinking the other day, why would someone who is afraid of a little blood be in our line or work?" Knight mused out loud.

"S'cuse me?" Yohji asked, looking confused.

"I was just wondering, because you use a weapon that is from such a long distance, if you're worried about getting blood on your clothes? Or if you have a phobia of…"

"No work talk!" Aya snapped. He did not like where this was going one bit. If he let that part of the conversation continue the two of them would end up physically fighting, because there was no way Yohji was going to point out that Knight's weapon, although closer range, still wasn't _close_ range. Then the two of them would battle it out to show who the bigger dog was.

"Sorry," Yohji said, like he was the one who had started it. That surprised Aya. Yohji normally wasn't the type to jump in and admit to something he hadn't done, or at least hadn't done _yet_.

Aya yanked his hand away when Knight tried to link their fingers together.

"I'm sorry, I just…I've missed you, Ran," Knight looked so sad.

"No one told you that you had to stay away," Aya pointed out. He wasn't trying to dig his claws into the wound, but he had to make sure Knight remembered exactly why he had stayed away. He had stayed away because he hadn't been able to control himself. Every time they saw each other now it was like this.

Aya didn't want to cut Knight out of his life, especially now that he knew Knight was the father, but he didn't want to be Knight's lover. They'd had a good friendship, and he wanted that back(without the benefits, of course!)

But Knight had to understand that he was staying with Yohji. Though maybe not for long once Yohji found out about his lies.

Things weren't going to go well once it was out in the open. He wasn't stupid enough to think he wasn't going to end up alone in this.

Alone with a baby. And who would he have to turn to? _Shit! _Knight was the only one feasible, being that he was the father and would want to take part in his child's life.

"Ran, would you like it if I came around more often?" Knight asked, looking him in the eye like he could read the guilt there.

"Yes, just…no more fighting between you two," he looked from one of them then to the other.

They both nodded, with stubborn looks in their eyes, like two children deviously thinking of how to hide the cookie jar so they wouldn't be caught with their hands in it.

"I mean it!" Aya warned. They glared at each other, but then both turned smiles at him.

Aya rolled his eyes, but then burst out laughing when the classic _'Urgh! Men!' _came to mind. He was pregnant, but he could still definitely count himself amongst the men!

"What?" Yohji asked, chuckling while nudging him with his elbow.

"Just thinking very strange thoughts." Aya wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eye. It was totally worth those two acting like juveniles!

He looked down at his belly when he felt the baby move.

"You in any pain? I could go and get you a shot," Yohji offered.

"Isn't it dangerous to give him too much of that?" Knight asked, looking worried about the prospect of drugs as a whole and not just the one the doctor had created.

"No, the doctor said to pretty much keep him dosed from here on in."

Aya wanted to remind them that he was sitting right there, but it was few and far between that those two could sit near each other and not fight, so he put up with it.

"Has it been tested before?"

"The doctor said it would work, but he wouldn't really give us any details. But he is keeping a strict eye on Aya for every little thing, so its safe to say we're in the clear. The doctor said its more dangerous for him to be spasming with pain. The more stress he puts on his body trying to fight off the pain the more he's putting a strain on the psychic link between them or something."

Aya smiled when he felt one of those tiny feet kick at him.

He didn't know who's hand to grab, so he grabbed both, and pushed them against his stomach to feel the little kicks.

He didn't want to just grab Knight's, because he didn't want to upset Yohji, and vice versa.

Neither one of them seemed awkward as they felt the tiny movements.

"Now that's…amazing!" Knight gasped, laughing.

"When's she due?"

"Next week." Aya sighed when the baby stopped moving.

"I haven't been gone that long!"

"The doctor said she's growing way faster than they had predicted, so she'll be seeing the world far sooner than we'd expected," Aya explained. He was really looking forward to it!

"You'll have to let me know when you're going in, I would like to go with you…with both of you," Knight added, making sure he was understood properly.

"I'll have Ken call you." Aya assured. He was pretty sure he himself would be in no condition to make any calls.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis, Blackorcid for your reviews!

sorry about the late post, I fell asleep at the computer before I could post it! LOL!


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 33

Yohji smiled and kissed Aya lightly on the lips. Aya didn't look so healthy right now, but the doctor had warned him that the last few days of the pregnancy would take its toll on his health.

So the fact that Aya had a slight fever worried him, but not enough to take him in. Aya had been in pretty good health yesterday, so it had startled him when Aya woke with a fever.

He'd been doing what he could, but Aya was being stubborn, too. The man insisted that the last day be drug free, because no matter how painful or uncomfortable, he wanted to remember every detail.

"You hungry, Aya?" Yohji asked, taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze.

Aya nodded, looking at him with expectant eyes.

"What can I get you? We still have some chocolate ice cream and whipped cream." Aya wrinkled his nose like that was the most disgusting thing he'd ever heard, even though he'd been wolfing it down at lunch time.

"Do we still have some of those triple chocolate fudge brownies that Ken grabbed?" Aya asked, pouting like he thought that he'd really eaten that many. _Two dozen in one day is a little much, I can't believe you thought you'd eaten them all!_

"Of course we do," Aya's eyes brightened considerably, like a child.

"Should've known it was a girl with all the sugar you've been eating. Should've known all those sugar and spice rhymes were true," Yohji teased.

"Yohji, I hate to break it to you…"

"Aya, lighten up, I'm not that stupid. Its so cute that you thought I was serious," Yohji chuckled.

"Cute?" Aya frowned. I forgot. Don't tell Aya he's cute, it pisses him off. Yohji just grinned, shaking his head as he left the room.

"Yohji?" Ken called his name when he stepped into the kitchen and started rifling through the fridge.

"Has Aya said who he wants to be the godparents yet?"

"I hadn't thought to ask. I could, though, if you want me to," it wouldn't be a problem as long as…

"Only if he's in a good mood. Don't want him to think we're trying to pressure him or anything."

He wanted to assure them that they would be the godparents, but he really had no idea. Aya was strange about things like that. Hell, for all Yohji knew Knight was going to be the godfather and his comatose sister would be the godmother.

He grabbed the container of brownies and set it on the counter before grabbing a plate. He shoved three brownies onto the plate, grabbed a napkin, and handed the container to Omi, who held out his hand for it.

He was surprised Omi hadn't had his fill yet. The boy was starting to rival Aya when it came to the sweets in the house, but then again, Omi had always had a sweet tooth.

Omi was enjoying the novelty of it always being in the house without making a pig of himself. And whenever they ran out the boys offered to get more.

There hadn't been any missions ever since Aya was practically immobile. Kritiker didn't want to take any chances. And although Yohji was happy about that, he wished that it was more because they cared about Aya and the child as people. He still wasn't entirely sure that this wasn't some sort of creepy science project. Well, no matter what happened he wasn't going to let Kritiker steal the child from them. Aya had continuously warned him that this was the entire objective, to take people who they already knew had the abilities and turning them into parents to get the best results from the child.

He was worried about Ken and Omi. If what Aya was saying was true then those two might be next.

Of course, seeing Omi all bright eyed over Aya's pregnancy, Yohji wasn't altogether sure that Omi wouldn't welcome it. The boy did have a thing for babies. It didn't matter where they went, whenever Omi saw a baby he gushed, babies liked him, too.

What he'd come to notice, though, was that babies always seemed to want Aya's attention. He wondered if it had always been like that for Aya, or if it was an effect of the pregnancy.

It wasn't just babies, either, little kids, as a rule, seemed to like Aya. Even the kids on Ken's soccer team had always been partial to Aya. He wondered if that was one of the many reasons Kritiker had chosen Aya, because even though he wasn't good with people as a rule, for some reason he was good with kids. It was funny, though, because he was almost as awkward with kids as he was with people, but kids seemed to see through his strangeness and get what most people didn't.

Yohji himself had been blind for a long time, thinking that Aya was always pissed off, when really he was socially awkward, and got frustrated easily when dealing with people.

He was sad that this pregnancy was coming to an end, he was getting used to seeing Aya's emotions written across his face. He was going to have to go back to trying to read him. Of course, it probably wouldn't be so hard now that he'd seen the emotions Aya was capable of.

He hummed as he carried the plate up the stairs.

"Yohji!" Aya shouted.

Yohji ran up the stairs, almost dropping the plate in the process. If Schuldig is in there I swear to God…

"Doesn't feel normal, Yohji. We need to go to the hospital! I think…you'd better call Yuushi, I…"

"Okay," Yohji set the plate down and pulled Aya to his feet. He wished Aya were still small enough to carry, but his shape was just awkward enough to make it impossible to carry him.

"Omi, get the travel bag! Ken, call Yuushi!" Yohji shouted. He knew they would know exactly what he meant.

Author's notes: Thanks JollyBigSis and Blackorcid for your reviews.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"Not even born yet and you're already an impatient brat!" Aya growled at his stomach as he let the doctor drug him so that he could do the surgery to remove the child.

He hated the idea that he would be stuck in pain from the stitches for a few weeks to come. He wished that he could somehow give birth like a woman, but there was no way in hell he would've let the doctors make that possible. He didn't even want to think about what they would do to him to make it happen.

"Hey, Aya, whatever you do, don't push!" Ken said, and barely dodged the fist that Aya swung at him from his place in the bed.

"Thanks for that, Ken," Yohji snorted.

"What? I was just trying to help," Ken pouted.

"well, don't!" Aya growled. He had no patience for that brand of help.

Aya's eyes went wide as pain shot through his body.

The doctors had already tented his stomach to make it so he couldn't look. They'd said it was standard procedure to make sure that no contaminants got inside.

"Are you sure you don't want us to put you out completely?" Dr. Yuri asked.

"I want to hear her first cry," Aya insisted. He didn't want to miss the first time she made noise. He would never get this chance again.

After another needle all of the pain faded away.

"Can you guys wait in the waiting room. We only allow one person in the room while we operate."

Aya didn't want either Yohji or Yuushi to leave, but out of all of them he needed Yohji by his side, father or not!

Yohji took his hand and linked their fingers together. It calmed him down a bit. He was so worried that everything was going to go to hell once Yohji found out, and that maybe the baby might have some deformities because it had grown so fast.

He was terrified. He wondered if Yohji could read it in his eyes. He could feel the pressure of the doctors cutting into him, but there was no pain.

"Everything's going to be fine, Aya, the doctors don't look worried at all." Yohji assured, leaning in and kissing him.

It seemed to take forever. _How the hell long does it take to cut a hole in someone and pull out a baby?_

Aya could feel their hands inside of him, it felt disgusting. But he suddenly heard the distressed cry of a baby being pulled out of his warm body.

His eyes widened when the doctors reached back inside of him and he could hear a second set of screams.

"Well, I didn't expect _that_!" Yohji laughed nervously.

"What is it?" Aya couldn't get a good look. Was it something other than two?

"The baby has a tail!" Yohji gasped.

"Wh…"

"I'm joking! No, but there are two babies! But they're cleaning them up, so I didn't get a look at whether they're male or female. Hell, I didn't even get to see the eye colour."

"Did they look healthy?" Aya asked. He could feel the tears in his eyes at the thought that something might be wrong.

"I think so. I mean they were crying, so that's a good sign."

Aya could feel the doctors stitching him closed. It was uncomfortable, but still not painful.

Aya blew out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Yohji, there's something I need to tell you," Aya said very quietly.

"I don't know if I should believe him or not, being that there's two babies instead of one, and that he's a bastard, but…Schuldig said the baby was Yuushi's. He threatened to do harm to the child if I didn't lie to you."

Yohji just stared at him with wide eyes, and then the tears started to trickle down his face.

"God, Aya, I'm so sorry!" Yohji sobbed, leaning in and kissing his forehead.

"You're sorry? Yohji, you've done nothing wrong! I'm the one…"

"I should've sensed something! Should've been able to tell you were in pain!" Yohji said in a hushed whisper.

"I thought you would leave me when you found out," Aya could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks.

"If you had lied to me because you wanted to hurt me then I would've been out the door," Yohji reached down and wiped the tears off his cheek.

"You're too good to me," Aya wanted to get up and wrap his arms around Yohji and just hide against him for a while, but with the doctors stitching him up there was no way that was going to happen.

"I waited this long for you, I'm not going to just give you up because of Schuldig." He felt the doctors finish with the stitches.

"Here we are, Mommy and Daddy!" The nurses announced, setting the two babies, wrapped in towels, into Yohji's arms so that they wouldn't hurt Aya.

"how soon can we get paternity tests?" Aya asked, smiling as Yohji knelt in front of him with both babies, held close so that he could see both of them.

"Two girls," Yohji chuckled.

"I think we're in over our heads," Aya snorted, reaching over and touching those little hands.

"What should we name them?"

"I would say name one of them after my sister, but that would get too confusing," Aya paused, trying to think of names that suited the girls.

A pair of lavender eyes and a pair of green eyes watched him out of scrunched up little faces.

"What about Kana for this one?" Yohji gestured his head toward the lavender eyed baby.

"Okay. And her? What about Reina?"

"I think we've got the names picked out. Reina and Kana Fujimiya." Aya wouldn't mention to Knight that Yohji had chosen one of the names.

And even if he did, he intended for all three other Weiss members to be Godparents to the girls anyway.

They had really pulled through for him in this difficult situation. He knew his girls would be safe with them if something happened to him.

"We took samples from the girls, we'll get them to the labs to find out who the father is. You should get the results back tomorrow."

Aya was terrified of the results, but he had to know the truth. He couldn't help but think that those were Yohji's green eyes.

Author's notes: See! I can play nice! LOL!

Thanks JollyBigSis, Blackorcid, ShonenAiSorcerer, and Kate the Night for your reviews. :)


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Yohji hated that he had to let the nurses take the babies away from him, but regardless, he stayed with Aya.

He demanded that a second hospital bed be brought into Aya's room. Wheeling the bed over to Aya's, he set it up so that the beds were touching. That way he could lay next to Aya without hurting him.

"I'm so proud of you. Not just any man could go through what you just did. I know I couldn't do it," he slid an arm around Aya, careful of his stitches, and kissed him passionately.

Aya leaned into the kiss, and Yohji knew that he needed that comfort, the knowledge that he wasn't alone despite what Schuldig had done.

Aya was his. Not even the knowledge of the real father could make him leave. He'd waited too long for Aya to just turn his back on him. Aya was everything he'd ever wanted.

None of the women he'd been with, not even Asuka, had made him feel this way. And regardless of what the paternity test said, he was going to be a father to those girls.

He was going to dress them up in frilly dresses and read them stories, he was going to hold them while they cried, and sing to them.

"I love you, you know that, right?" Yohji whispered against his lips.

"Yeah," Aya kissed him.

"I want to make love to you right now, but it would rip your stitches. Guess we'll have to wait," Yohji teased.

"Its going to seem like forever," Aya's hand slipped into his, linking their fingers together.

"Our girls are so beautiful. I can't wait until we get them home. And we already have babysitters lined up for when we go out."

"Babysitters?" Aya looked intrigued.

"I think Naru and Yuushi would make pretty good babysitters. They're both caring people."

"As long as Naru doesn't turn my girls into giggling fan girls he'll be a good babysitter. But I swear to God if I come home one day to find my girls mooning over some guy on TV Naru is going to get castrated!"

"I think Yuushi will keep that brat in line." Yohji slid his palm over Aya's cheek, looking him in the eye.

"Yuushi's a good man, but I'm terrified right now that the babies are his. I want you to be the father. Yuushi's a friend, our girls need a solid relationship between us. I can't give Yuushi that when I love you." Even though Yohji had heard Aya confess his love before, it still made his heart swell to hear it.

"You know I'll never leave you, right? No matter what happens? Even if those crazy fan girls grope you, I'll stay with you," Yohji said with a laugh.

"I'm relying on you to protect my ass," Aya snorted.

"Consider me on the job. It'll be a hard mission, but I always did love a good damsel in distress." Yohji laughed when Aya punched him in the shoulder.

"Dick," Aya growled, but was smiling nonetheless.

"I'm going to stay by your side twenty four seven until your all healed up. That way no one will take advantage of you. Schuldig won't know what hit him if he comes in after you. You won't even be able to take a piss by yourself." Aya wrinkled his nose at that. Yohji had come to love that reaction.

"My stomach is back to being small again, thank God! Once I'm healed I won't be carrying along all that extra weight. I'll just have to work on the muscles a bit until my stomach is completely flat."

"Yeah, I actually wasn't expecting all of that weight to be gone. I've gotten used to how cute you look with that baby belly."

"Who brought the flowers?" Aya pointed to the white roses that sat on the stand.

"Manx. She said she'd stop in later to congratulate you. I think she's as thrilled as everyone else that you made it through this. I found out from the Kritiker doctors that they weren't sure if you were going to live, being that they'd sped things up so much."

"Bastards!" Aya hissed.

"Don't worry, I decked the doctor that announced that. And Yuushi looked ready to murder him. I think they're going to think twice about doing this to someone else without permission. But regardless, they gave us a miracle."

"Yeah. I hate them for doing this, but I'm grateful for the results. I still can't believe that we have two healthy little girls."

"Feels like a dream, doesn't it," Yohji kissed him again.

"He's too injured to have sex, you pervert!" Ken said with a laugh as he entered the room. Yohji burst out into laughter despite Aya's glare.

Omi smacked him upside the head with a small laugh.

"Hey, Aya, we brought you some cream puffs. I know you're not having baby cravings anymore, but I figured you might want these," Omi chirped handing the bag to Aya.

"Thank you," Aya gave him a small smile and opened the bag. He held it open to Yohji to share.

"Don't just stand in the doorway, guys, get your asses over here," Yohji chuckled.

"We saw your girls through the viewing window. They're so pretty," hearing Ken call anything pretty was kind of funny in itself.

"Oh yeah, I found the coolest balloon ever!" Ken said proudly. Yohji was curious now. He sat up and laughed at the sight. It was made up of several balloons, made to look like a child. Ken was holding it by the hand and as he walked it looked like the child was walking too.

Ken walked it over to where Aya was laying to give him a good look at it.

"Thank you," Aya said with a small laugh.

"We get the paternity test tomorrow," Yohji said. He watched Omi's face fall.

"I thought the baby was yours," Omi looked worried.

"Schuldig manipulated Aya into saying that. But it doesn't matter. I'm going to be a daddy regardless of the results!" Yohji practically shouted with joy.

"Now that's what we want to hear!" Ken cheered.

"So, Aya, have you chosen the Godparents yet?" Ken asked hopefully.

"Do you even need to ask?" Aya snorted.

"Obviously you two and whomever isn't the father is going to be the Godparents. My sister is going to be the Godmother, though. It would be nice if she woke up and saw this. I could just imagine the smile on her face as she held the girls in her arms." Aya said the last part wistfully.

"We'll take the girls to see her regardless. I'm sure she'll be able to love them even if she continues to sleep," Yohji kissed his forehead. He'd heard before that coma patients could still hear, he just hoped that was the truth.

"When you're out of the hospital we should have a little party! Just us and the Crashers!" Omi announced.

"That sounds like a great idea!" That way everyone could see the girls and spend some time celebrating the miracle.

Author`s notes: Thanks JollyBigSis, Blackorcid, ShonenAiSorcerer for your reviews. :)


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Aya stared, confused, as Yohji suddenly ran out of the room, stating that there was something wrong with their girls.

He wanted to get up and follow, but there was no way he would be able to move around that much with the stitches all through his belly.

He hoped to hell that Yohji's instincts were wrong! Something couldn't be wrong with his girls! If anything happened to them it would kill him inside.

"Now now, no need to get all worked up. I just didn't want any interruptions," Schuldig chuckled as he approached the bed.

Aya flinched away when Schuldig caressed his cheek.

"I've missed seeing that determined, stubborn spirit in your eyes. I just had to come and visit you." Schuldig was the last person he wanted to visit with!

"Your girls are quite beautiful. I wonder if my boy will be as gorgeous."

"What do you want!" Aya hissed, wanting to get up and beat the living shit out of him.

"Just think of it, our kids will be very close to the same age. Maybe when they're all grown up they might meet and become _very_ close! I mean what teenage boy wouldn't want a pair of redheaded twins!"

"I'll never let that happen! I'll tell my girls to avoid your boy like the plague! If I see him anywhere near them I'll kill him! And you won't be able to stop me because I'll have already killed you!" And he meant it, too!

There was no way in hell he was going to let Schuldig's brat anywhere near his girls!

"Such a dangerous mommy you are. With an attitude like that your girls will never be happy. They'll become you, self righteous murderers! When I look at you I see blood, and its delicious! It makes me want to lick you from head to toe! The only thing keeping me from that is Brad!"

Aya's heart sped up as his body betrayed him. The image of Schuldig on top of him, tracing his tongue down his chest made his body tighten all over.

"I knew that would get your attention. Just admit it, Ran, you're attracted to me. If you, who knows who I am and what I'm capable of, can't stop himself from yearning for my touch, how well do you think your girls will fair against my son?"

"Fuck you!" Aya hissed, wishing the asshole would come closer so that he could at least try to hit him.

"One of these days when I visit I'm going to fuck you! I'll wait until you're healed, and then I'll get inside your head and make you ready for me! Maybe Brad will join in the fun, and I know Farfarello wouldn't pass up the opportunity. Its just so sweet to be able to delve into your head and make you want me!"

Aya would kill him before he'd let that happen! He was pretty sure Schuldig was merely voicing his desires and not his plans, because if he got the Schwarz team after him there was no way he'd be able to escape even with his sword!

"Get the hell away from him!" Yohji screamed from the doorway, unleashing his wires.

Schuldig just laughed as he dodged and exited through the window.

"Aya, are you okay?" Yohji ran to his side, grabbing his hand and linking their fingers together.

"Yeah, he was just trying to ruffle my feathers," Aya was pissed.

"Looks like it worked," Yohji kissed him lightly on the lips. Aya didn't answer. It didn't matter because Yohji already knew the gist of what had happened.

"I'm sorry, Aya. If I hadn't left this wouldn't have happened!"

"He sent you away, it wasn't your fault. You're here now, that's all that matters," Aya smiled as Yohji leaned down for another kiss, this time more passionate.

Aya opened to him, letting him deepen the kiss. It felt so good to have Yohji's arms as much around him as he could without hurting him.

He wanted to lose himself in Yohji's arms, but with the stitches there was no way he'd be able to do that much physical activity.

"He's pregnant with a boy and wants his boy to seduce our girls when they're older," Aya growled. It still pissed him off, just the idea that Schuldig might be right about all of this.

"Well then we'll just have to figure out what his kid looks like and warn our girls as they get older. Its about all we can do."

"We'll find his kid and kill him before he has the chance. Kritiker will know what he looks like long before we can find out."

"We could always kill him before he has a chance to have a son." Aya looked up at Yohji. Could he really kill Schuldig when the man was pregnant? Schuldig could've killed him the same way, but he hadn't. He'd had a small bit of mercy.

Aya didn't know what to think, what to do. Right now all he wanted was to hold his girls in his arms, to kiss their foreheads and know that they were safe.

He looked over at the little balloon boy that Ken had brought and smiled. Ken had surprised him with how much he'd supported him. Omi had always been very maternal, but Ken just hadn't seemed like the type.

He was going to have to do something to thank them once he was able to get around. He had a lot to be thankful for.

"Yeah, they've been pretty amazing," Yohji said as if he could read his mind.

"I never expected this to go over well. I expected to be a sideshow freak. But everyone stood by my side. I can't even begin to thank them enough. And you've amazed me. I thought you were going to be done with me over and over. I thought that you would hate me when I got pregnant. I was so upset when you avoided me. But then you held my hand through it, even when I had to lie to you." Aya could feel the tears straining at his eyes.

"I'll always stand by your side. We're in this together," Yohji kissed him again, setting his heart on fire.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have the results of the paternity test," Dr. Yuri said as he entered the room. Manx was standing at his side, her eyes so warm as she looked upon them.

"Yohji, you're the father!" Manx announced. Aya just sat there and stared as Manx smiled at him.

Yohji screamed with joy, throwing his arms up into the air. Aya laughed, both relieved and amused by Yohji's antics.

He let the tears fall down his cheeks, and did everything he could not to sob with joy.

"Congratulations!" Manx said, looking like she wanted to go over and hug them both. But Manx wasn't really the type to hug.

"Thank you," Yohji said with a wide grin spreading across his face. He'd never looked so beautiful in Aya's eyes as he did right now.

"We've given this gift to you as a thank you for all of your hard work." Manx announced. Aya was surprised, he could sense the honesty in her voice, Kritiker really hadn't done this to him in order to steal his babies and make them killers. They'd actually done this as a gift.

"We'll take good care of the gifts you've given us."

"And when they're potty trained I might be available to babysit," Manx said with a small laugh.

Author's notes: THanks JollyBigSis, Blackorcid, ShonenAiSorcerer for your reviews.

Okay, so I couldn't leave it alone without a little something disturbing, it keeps the story interesting.

Mwahahahahaha!


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Yohji stepped out of the room as the doctor motioned him from the hallway. Aya was sleeping, and still in sight.

"So?"

"The tests came back negative, Mr. Kudou, so you have nothing to worry about," the doctor said with a knowing smile.

"Good, Its not like I'm not happy about this, I just…"

"Want this to be a one time thing. I understand," the doctor nodded and clapped him on the shoulder before leaving.

He hadn't told Aya about the extra test. He hadn't wanted him to get the wrong idea. If he had asked Aya or even mentioned it he was pretty sure Aya would've had a fit.

But he had to know just how careful he had to be every time he touched Aya. He didn't want them to end up with an entire houseful of babies, because he honestly thought about sleeping with Aya _that_ much!

His heart had nearly stopped when he'd seen Schuldig in Aya's room. He hated that the bastard had made him leave Aya's side so easily! He was still pissed about that. And Aya had actually behaved and stayed lying down. Normally Aya would've been up out of that bed with his stitches ripped and bleeding all over the floor.

Now Ken and Omi were out on a mission. He'd wanted to go to make sure they were alright, but couldn't leave Aya's side. Of course he knew they could handle the job, but he'd gotten so used to him and Aya making sure the boys were alright.

Omi and Ken would kill him if they knew he thought that way. Of course everyone knew Aya was like that. They'd become so used to him having their backs that they didn't even question it anymore.

When he'd first joined the team they'd thought he was just being an ass and a show off. They hadn't understood why he was always there to jump in if they needed assistance. But they'd gotten used to his protective eyes watching over them. They knew he didn't do it because he didn't think they could handle it.

Yohji supposed he was like that, too, though he'd never really thought of it before, but he was always listening in closely for the boys' voices on the comm. Always listening to make sure they were alright.

It really bothered him that he couldn't hear them breathing, hear their voices either saying that the mission was accomplished, or that they needed help.

"Are you just going to stand there frowning, or are you going to come back to bed?" Aya asked. Yohji chuckled at the thought that Aya would actually ask someone else that.

"Like I would ever say no to that invitation!" Yohji climbed back onto his bed and leaned over to kiss Aya.

"Don't be pissed at me, but I had the doctors do another test," the telltale narrowing of Yohji's eyes let him know what he'd thought, that Aya would be pissed.

"You didn't believe them the first time?" Aya moved to sit up, but then winced and fell back down.

"I wanted to see if we had to be careful every time we had sex, so I asked them to check to see if its possible for you to get pregnant again," he heard Aya's breath hitch. The man looked afraid of the answer.

"They said no, that this was a one time deal. We needed to know…"

"I hadn't even considered it. I'm glad you asked. It would've been a nightmare if…"

"Way ahead of you, Aya. I was already picturing a house with twenty-some-odd screaming redheaded babies. It would've been nothing short of horror movie material, especially when they became teenagers! Could you imagine trying not to kill over twenty boyfriends?"

"We wouldn't last. We'd kill them," Aya said with a yawn.

"I think so, yeah," Yohji chuckled, picturing them coming down the stairs to meet the boyfriends in mission gear with weapons ready.

"Where are Ken and Omi? They didn't say anything about soccer practice."

"Yeah, they were given a mission. It pisses me off. Why couldn't Kritiker wait for us! I mean I know…"

"There isn't anything we can do about it right now. We just have to hope that there are no hidden guards. I want to be there, too." Aya looked so tired. There were still dark circles under his eyes.

"Aya, I'm glad you stayed in bed, but why didn't you get up and attack Schuldig?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. Was Aya even worse off than he imagined?

"He wasn't worth having to wait longer to hold the girls. If he would've come close enough to physically hurt me I could've reached him to punch him or something. But he was just trying to piss me off. It worked, but he didn't give me enough of a reason to make the waiting another couple of days longer. He's done enough, he won't rob me of this."

Yohji should've expected as much. He'd been able to hold the girls for three days now, Aya had to have him hold the babies for him and let him touch them. He wasn't healed enough to hold them.

Yohji knew that if it were himself, it would be driving him insane not being able to hold them. I mean he'd felt antsy every time the nurses took the girls . He wished they would just leave the babies in the room with them.

_It would be so cool if Aya could breastfeed! He'd probably punch me if he knew I was thinking about it! _He tried not to chuckle at the image of Aya with a baby held to his nipple. Too cute!

"What are you grinning about?" Aya was staring at him like he'd suspected his thoughts.

"Just glad you're healthy."

"Thank you, even though I know you're lying through your teeth. I'm too tired to fight with you right now." He could see why. Aya had needed a transfusion after the birth, and now he was taking iron pills and other supplements, but it had still done a number on him.

"The doctor says you're healing up really well. He said you might be able to come home in a few days. Then we can enjoy waking up to shrieking redheads every morning. It'll be cute for the first few days. Then we'll want to shove them under the mattress or something," Yohji loved the sound of Aya's quiet laughter.

Author's notes: This is the end of part one. Part two will start tomorrow, it'll be under the name Troublesome redheads.

It's a continuation.

Thanks JollyBigSis, Evalita, and ShonenAiSorcerer for your reviews!


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